Excuses, Excuses (or why I haven't painted lately)

This wasn't going to be its own post, but instead a short list of excuses within another post of WHY I HAVEN'T POSTED ANY NEW WORK! 

Well, I had a little too much fun with my list. It's a pretty accurate portrayal of our life right now with two kids, 7 and 5 years old. (OK, soon to be 7 and 6 years old on Wednesday!)

Here are my excuses...in no particular order of priority. 

Excuse #1: FAMILY

I have to talk to them and help my kids do stuff. Take the simple act of bathing.

"Yes, you have to take a bath."

 And for those of you who have more than one child...

"Whoever guesses the closest number from 1-10 has to go first."

"I don't care who goes first...just take a bath!"

"Did you wash your hair/brush your teeth?"

"It doesn't smell like you washed your hair/brushed your teeth."

"Why is the shampoo almost gone? I just bought it yesterday!"

"Please hang up the towel."

My kids...making mud with our clay dirt and water.

AND I have to make sure they eat...and healthily.

"No chips, candy, dessert until you finish all your food!"

"OK, fine. At least two more bites?"

"Since the cat got on the counter to eat your food, you can be done."

Not to mention they have to get to school somedays.

"Wake up..."

"Wake up or you're going to be late!"

"Brush your teeth./Brush them again!"

"I don't know where your other shoe/bookbag/sock/shirt, is..."

"What permission slip?"

"Hurry or your going to be late!"

And sports...

"Is it our turn to bring snack?"

"How much are the trophies/party this year?"

"Yay (or Awww), the game is canceled due to weather."

"Do you have your football/soccer ball/jersey?

"Hurry up or you're going to be late!"

Our son as goalie during a soccer game

Excuse #2: WORK

Sometimes I have to travel for work, and prepare presentations in front of people. If you read my previous post (here), then you already know that I'm presenting to people about stuff that's not art related. While it's a nice distraction away from my creative side, it's still a distraction and consequently, hard to switch on and off on a whim. My job is somewhat flexible since I work from home, but I also have 24/7 access to the emails (=stress).

However, sometimes I travel to great places! I've taken a public bus in Beijing, toured the terra-cotta soldiers in Xi'an, walked from Moulin Rouge to our hotel room in central Paris (District 9 to District 1) at 2am since the metro had already stopped running for the night. I've visited the western-most point in Europe in Portugal and took pictures of a Roman gladiator talking to a guy on a segway. My favorite memories are from my first trip for work since I had to stay there for 2 weeks (2 separate meetings) and my husband came with me. We had a great time in Prague and loved every minute of it.

Too bad I don't paint architecture/cityscapes/landscapes)

Prague-Atlantic Ocean

Pena Castle in Sintra, Portugal (near Lisbon)

My hubby and I near the Roman Coliseum

Excuse #3: HOME LIFE

Do you remember the Dunkin' Donuts commercial with the guy waking up really early EVERY MORNING and saying "it's time to make the donuts..." Well, keeping up a house feels sorta like that. OK, EXACTLY like that. (At least to me it does...see the last bullet)

It's time to...

• Cut the grass
• Weed
• Pick up toys (oops...this should come first)
• Buy new or fix yard equipment (lawn mower, clippers, etc)
• fix breakfast/lunch/dinner
• I know my astrological sign is cancer and I'm supposed to be a home maker type, loving to cook and stuff, but...uh...no.
• take-out?
• Ask hubby to cook
• Find a quick microwaveable meal or something easy to put together
• Do the laundry
• yes, that means putting the clothes away!
• CLEAN...
•  Why didn't we get a shed-free dog?
• Really? Didn't you read that I'm an ARTIST?

Our dog...taking over. Did you really think I would add a picture of anything else related to excuse #3?

Excuse #4: ART

Oh yeah, that. After work, and kid stuff and home stuff...Where did my energy go? I'm too stressed and the kids are in bed. I need a glass of wine. 

 

What did I want to work on? (Cue the crickets...)

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I'd love to hear your excuses for not getting something done that you otherwise would LOVE to do!