turn left at the cows...

Introducing: Jodi Dolls!!

2006-05-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got busy on my new venture. Jodi Dolls were born on May 5, 2006. The first litter was 23 dollies and they have already grown and morphed a bit. As they develop, I am taking notes for future generations. The ideas are flying in my head as to how to do themes, sizes, and especially personaliztion. They will even have a tag signed by me so you know you are getting a one-of-a-kind original.

18 pounds!!!!

2006-04-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

Woo-Hoo! Woo-Hoo!

As of this week, I have lost 18 pounds! I just need 2 more to be at my first goal. Next Wednesday is my birthday and I am so happy to be celebrating it 20 lbs lighter! Woo-Hoo!

Jodi

My busy new baby...

2006-04-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

Yippee! I got a new car! After much prayer and research, we went out and got a Kia Rio5. It is Sunset Orange and runs like a dream! We got it just in time, too. The other day our 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix decided that it was old and tired and didn't want to drive to work ANYMORE!

So, this is my birthday and anniversary present from Keith! We truly need reliable transportation with each of us working 7 days a week 30 miles from home. That's not even taking into consideration all of the kids's activities.

Maddie had softball tournaments in Sarasota this weekend and I drove there twice! In 7 days we have put almost 1000 miles on this baby! Keith came home and said I will get to see it turn over on my way to work tonight. Can you imagine?

Anyway, now I just need a name for it. Got any suggestions??

Jodi

Green Belt??

2006-03-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I am home from my trip to see Lisa and life is zooming fast once again. I was so calm in Tallahassee. It was so beautiful there. Canopied roads, hills, it felt so Northern! LOL I was totally at ease in the home of my dear friends. I even came home with all kinds of goodies. :-)

Today is one of those Supermom days. I am about to leave for Peter's Tae Kwon Do test. He is going for the Green belt! We'll see what happens. He was an orange belt when we stopped going for a year and a half. Now he's back and has caught right up into his old routine. He goes with his grandpa twice a week and Grandpa tells me Pete is going to be great! I have no doubt.

Then we leave the TKD test and head for Maddie's softball game. Luckily, they are both five minutes away from each other. ;-) Maddie is playing so well this year. I am so proud of my athletic kids!

It's going to be a while before I am in a new routine with this crazy messy office. I'll try to keep up with my blog, though.

Later.

I'm a bad blogger!

2006-03-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I come to the conclusion that I suck at blogging! LOL

Really. I seem to find the time to check my email several times a day, but I can't seem to find the time to blog. I am going to be optimistic, though, and believe that it is only because my life has been so crazy busy since I got home from Nashville and not that I am a failure at a simple thing like typing regularly. ;-)

Today I am sitting in my new office. Yup!I got me an office. Perhaps you'll see pics here soon. (But don't hold your breath!) Actually, it's our walk-in closet. We took our stuff out and put my office in and now our bedroom has a whole "less is more" thing going on. It looks great (the bedroom! not the office). We went to Lowe's and found these cool free standing clothing racks with covers that match my curtains and keep the whole "island cabana" theme going. We had thought about building an actual new closet, but besides the fact that we wanted it done NOW, I like the ability to still rearrange the furniture when we get bored. Building a new closet would have killed that for sure, and Keith and I rearrange regularly. (I guess it's like getting a whole new house without having to move!)

The office will have to wait to be cleaned up and organized because today I am off to a mini vacation. I am headed to see my dear friend Lisa Cowell, the other half of Blue Moo. She is still actively involved in the designing business, however she is somewhat geographically challenged at the moment due to a continued series of appointments in the Tallahassee region. So, I'm gonna pack up some fun and take the show to her! I told her to get her hard hat on, cuz I'm comin' to pick her brain all weekend! I have a ton of new ideas and since she has "been there, done that" to just about every crafting related subject under the sun, she has a lot of answers I am looking for.

I am also looking forward to some major stitching time. I have just finished the daunting task of doing our taxes, so I am really ready for a break. The bad thing is that I will miss a couple of Maddie's softball games. She is on fire this year and I have so much fun at those games. At least I'll be back in time for spaghetti dinner and talent show at school next week. :-) AND, next week Peter tests for green belt in Tae Kwon Do! We are definitely busy around here.

Well, that should catch you up, fine readers. Thanks for being interested in us and our work! We'll have some great new things to show you when I get back. Until then, check out Lisa's site: http://www.lisacowell.com
and visit our stitcher's challenge page to join in on the fun! http://www.designsbyjodievans.com/Stitchers_Challenge.html
Have a great weekend!

Jodi

I'm Published... Again!

2006-01-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Yippee! I never get over the thrill of seeing something I wrote published in a public periodical. I am not talking about blogs or something that you publish yourself. I am speaking of things written and submitted to an editor who you hope will find relevance and decide to print your work. This may seem like small potatoes to some people, but my column was accepted and printed in the January 2006 Florida edition of The Country Register.

My local shop owner, Carolyn, kept telling me last year to submit something because January is the stitching issue. Well, I never got it together in time, so this year she really pushed me. Some people really like my writing. ;-p

I wrote an article titled "Yes, We Have Shops Just For Stitching." The CR did a lot of typos and some editing, but for the most part it's pretty true to my submission. I began explaining that no one quite gets what I do for a living when I tell them I am a NeedleArt designer. I go on to speak about the benefits of stitching on your mental and physical well-being. Then, I wrap it up with a short description of my three most local shops and their distinctly different personalities. I write with a sense of humor and Carolyn thought it was pretty funny.

So, now that I am published again I am looking for new venues to submit my work to. Who knows...

New Art Adventures...

2006-01-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am so excited about my new art explorations! I have been stamping and doing all sorts of paper crafts. Now I am getting into ATCs and buying all sorts of new supplies. I got a heat tool and embossing powders. Now I just need to find time to play. These days I am all about getting ready for the Nashville Needlework Market in two weeks.

Maybe I can have some goodies ready to share with my buddy Monique. She is a very dear friend of mine who I met about a year ago. It was one of those times where two people just click, you know? We both have the same values and beliefs, we both design needlework, and we both are looking for new and different ways to bring our love of stitching to the world. Monique is the one who helps me find all kinds of cool new art to get interested in.

You should check out her new "Markers" line. They are a perfect example of looking at counted thread in a whole new way. Her website is: http://mymarkdesigns.com and her blog is http://www.mymarkdesigns.blogspot.com/

Have fun!

My Theme for 2006

2006-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

I was reading my journal the other night and I realized I have so many things I meant to post here that I never did. I like the idea of public accountablity. If I post my intentions here in public, I am more accountable to live up to them. :-)

So, I decided that my theme for 2006 can be summed up in a word. BELIEVE.

BELIEVE...

in my savior, Jesus Christ

in myself

in my business

in my art

BELIEVE...

in my journey

in all of the possiblities!

BELIEVE

Mother Guilt

2006-01-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

You know, being a mom can sometimes be an emotionally crippling experience. :-/

I was speaking with another mommy the other evening and we joked about how the kids scream and cry when you leave the house making you feel like the creature from the black lagoon. So, while you're out you think of nothing but what a bad mother you must be. Then when you get home your husband tells you the kid was fine the minute you were gone. You were so easily replaced by that goofy wind-up toy. What an ego buster!

Crazy, I know, but I was just telling my hubby last night that I still need to learn how to give myself permission to push the family aside and do what *I* need to do today. He reminded me that the kids are pretty big now (8, 12, and 14 at home) and it's really ok to get my work done. I think he's right. They do seem to like those paydays when we are able to buy what they need because I worked a lot.

I guess I will always be a slave to mother guilt no matter how hard I try...

My Busy, Boring New Year

2006-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

Geez! It's been two weeks since I blogged. I have been working my paycheck job like 5-6 nights a week since Christmas, so free time is a minimum these days. Two weeks, let's see...

I finished one model and started another.

I made a bunch of jewelry the other night after getting inspired by a new group I am on. (Yes, another one! But I did leave all of the ones I am no longer active on!)

I sorted through all of my stash so I can donate to Katrina's Stitchers. I just need a day off so I can box it up and send it off. The hard part is typing what I send to whom on the list.

I wrote in my journal almost every night at work, perhaps you'll see some of it here soon.

I dropped off the last five designs at the framer's for Nashville.

I got Peter back into Tae Kwon Do at the Performance Foyer and I got Maddie signed up for Miss Auburndale Softball.

I paid off another bill. Yeah!

See, my life as an Artiste is not very exciting! I'm still just a mom underneath it all trying to be all things to all people. I hope the New year has showed you possibilities beyond your imagination. Hopefully I'll have something much more interesting to post next time!

Ah, well...

2005-12-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

Bummer!! I typed a really long, very well-written commentary on my obsessive habit of joining art groups when the phone rang. Well, I got up to answer and when I came back my screen saver was on, so I forgot all about the blog and got my running shoes on. By the time I came home from the treadmill at mom's house all sweaty, I got on the computer to check email before cleaning up and I lost my long post just before publishing it. Man!

Now you'll have to wait a little longer to be impressed by my literary prowess...

What a busy week!

2005-12-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

This week has been so busy, I want to scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for letting me share. ;-P

Last week when I was playing classroom party helper and chauffeur, I declared that this week would be mine. HA! That's so cute that I really thought I would be able to claim some time for my own Christmas preparations. LOL I have spent every single day this week shopping for someone, with someone, or because of someone. I had to go to work each night just to relax!

I am excited about Christmas. What greater day than the day we celebrate the birth of our savior. Thank God in heaven for loving me so much that He sent His own child to live on this earth and walk in my shoes only to die for it. HHMM...I guess I just needed to think about that again. I feel so much better already.

God keeps giving me pictures of great art in my head. I am hoping that next week when all is calm and the kids are at their dad's then I'll be able to make some art. I am getting all kinds of cool new tools for Christmas. I think...

I hope your Christmas is filled with the joy of the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us, every one!

Baby It's Cold Outside...

2005-12-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

I love that song... And it IS cold outside today. In Central FL cold means I had to wear pants instead of shorts, socks and sneakers instead of sandals, and a warm jacket! Who cares what the temp actually is - it's all relative, right?

Speaking of relative, Mom is so busy with her new place I hardly see her. It is nice to know she's there, though. This is one of those situations where you don't realize how badly you missed someone until you have them back. I needed my mommy a lot more than I thought these last several years. It's going to be a Merry Christmas spending it with her and Jim.

Oh, yeah, Arabian Nights was very cool last night. I have never been one of those people who goes gaga for horses, but I must say they were so beautiful. I have a whole new appreciation for those animals. These were all Arabian horses. Every shade of brown or white - even a black one! I will never look at horses the same. I want to work them into my art, too.

Anyway, tonight I invite you all to go and snuggle up with a good book or a great project you've been dying to do. Maybe even a movie you haven't had time to watch. Just stay inside and enjoy the Christmas tree, cuz Baby, it's cold outside...

Christmas shopping...

2005-12-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! I never thought Christmas shopping could be so inspiring! While I was out yesterday I saw so many things that gave me ideas for new art. I have a zillion pictures in my brain that are begging to become a collage, a mosaic, or the next counted thread design. I am dying to have some time to make some ATC's and I have so many half finished pieces of jewelry. UGH! I need playtime. Calgon, take me away...

The good news is that today I am partying it up! I just got back from my Kid's Nite Out Christmas party and I leave in an hour to go to Arabian Nights with my son and my step-daughter for her Christmas party. I've never been there so I am pretty excited.