Life is good for me right now....

Finally! A watercolor painting I'm doing that is turning out good. I am really enjoying this watercolor class. It's only going to be an 8 week course but it is giving me a good start in this medium. I am finding the teacher to be excellent. His style is really tight and detailed but every time he comes around to help me he does these wonderful little thumbnail sketches that are loose and flowing.

I am doing a painting of a tree that is in stark contrast to a dark river behind it. It's a very dramatic picture with dark greens and blues except for bright yellow leaves on the right side of the tree due to a setting sun (which is actually out of the picture.)

Like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words." You'd have to see the picture

I was worried about painting the river and actually making it look like water. I did a smaller painting of this picture so I could work out all the problems on it before I did it on the larger, more expensive paper. On the smaller painting I overworked it so much that the river turned out to be "muddy." Not a pun. It's an actual term in water coloring. I find it hard to do it right the first time which is why I've always thought watercolors to be so difficult.

I had the teacher show me how to do the water on his paper and when I followed his instructions and example it turned out great, much different than the reference but beautiful. Instead of the dark, stark contrast the river is actually a very cool, light color but even more appealing to me. Now the tree is too harsh. I am going to see what the teacher has to suggest.

Anyway, it's a whole new experience for me. I am going to try my hand at this for the next year and see how it goes over time. Learning how to watercolor was one of the things on my 100 goals list. So, also, was spending a year doing something new and challenging. So I'm accomplishing two goals at once.

Getting up at 5:00 is something I am finding surprisingly easy. I don't have to drag myself out of bed every morning. The alarm goes off and I'm up without effort. And the "sleep withdrawals" are about gone now that I'm not getting back up due to the Ambien. The Lord is really blessing me so that I'm able to achieve this goal. I'm amazed at how much I'm enjoying the benefits of early rising. I'm loving the time studying my scriptures and writing in my journal when I 'm fresh. It really is invigorating as it promised it would be in the D&C!

Another great thing is that I've re-lost(?) the five pounds that I gained last month. Also, I'm starting to enjoy my mission and am getting more and more confident on the computer. And, last but not least, Joe has set up a small table in the computer room so that I can have all my books, scriptures and journal out and not have to have them in the way on the dining room table. He has moved his work computer up into the bonus room which makes room available for me downstairs. He has a nice long table up there for his puzzles, and we have put our family room furniture up there so it's a nice cozy place for him to be as well.

Life is good for me right now. Thanks Heavenly Father.