I had a terrific, long Thanksgiving weekend! Five days off flew by! By the same token, I got quite a lot accomplished! And I feel SUPER rested for this upcoming week. During these last few days, I put up 2 Christmas trees, cleaned the house, got all the laundry out of the way for this week, made a MAJOR dent in my Christmas shopping, spent quality time with family and friends, and still had some time to work on some new artwork! Here are some of my latest pages:

If you look closely at these pages, it looks like I have a "bald" space at the end of the right page. It actually was a new page because the previous page was just half the size of a regular page. In this book, I have altered the sizes of my pages to give them a little more contrast and make them more interesting to the eye too. After playing with the size, I made the next page look like it is part of these pages. You will see that effect when I post more artwork later in the week. I am 4 pages away from finishing this book, then it will be time to start another book. I already have my new book waiting for me... I am "itching" to start work in it since it is a different size than this book. Just like I like playing with the sizes of my pages, I like experimenting with the sizes of the books I work in. Different perspective and much more interesting than the status quo...

I LOVE the saying, "When the caterpillar thought its life was over, the butterfly was born." Throughout our lives, we will be constantly metamorphosing into someone else. These pages are the beginning of the next chapter in my life.

Although the week was crazy and ridiculously fast-paced, it is important for me to slow down and make the time to work on my art. I am looking forward to having the long, holiday weekend next week, which will include, for me, an extra day, Wednesday (which is a day that has been owed to me for the last 2 months). I will get an extra helping of my family next weekend, along with pumpkin and cranberry pies, and I will squeeze in putting up our Christmas tree and attending the annual dinner that is part of our family's fund-raiser for my late niece, Katie's foundation: the Kathryn Elizabeth Millan Memorial Foundation, http://www.kemmf.org/.

A few more pages in my book. I am "itching" to finish this book and start on a new one. It has been a very quiet weekend for me. I had a brutal week @ work and it has been great to turn off that week in many ways. I was SO exhausted, that last night, I was in bed before 9! Wow... Today has also been mostly quiet. I did some work for about a couple of hours, but I also snuck in a nice breakfast with my husband, got my hair trimmed, and ran a couple of errands. Nothing too straining - a nice, quiet weekend is exactly what I need to re-charge for Monday and another week.

Last post of the day... it is hard to be married to a Rough Rider! I took this photo of my husband on the morning of the BIG game. This shot was taken in my studio, @ home. His polo shirt is a homage to his beloved (and my father's) alma mater, Roosevelt High School. Last Friday night, Garfield and Roosevelt played @ ELAC, their football game that is known as the "Classic". Needless-to-say, Roosevelt beat my beloved Garfield Bulldogs, 28 to 16, in the 75th Anniversary of the Classic. Worse than that, I had to hear the Rough Rider gloat all weekend, "Que paso, Garfield, que paso? Which I had to ask myself as well. Although I am a Montebello Oiler, boy, did that Garfield loss hit me hard. It was a bad week for us Bulldogs.

I have been SO blessed my entire life to have SO many wonderful and caring friends; in some cases, friends who have been a part of my life for most of my years such as Kim, Art, and Maroun to more recent friends such as Donna, George, and Shanna, who have been such a BIG part of my life for the last few years. One of those wonderful and dear friends is David, pictured here with me. David is an Assistant Principal who works with me. He will be out for the next 6 weeks on medical leave. He recently learned he has cancer and is currently in the hospital recuperating from surgery. Please keep him in your prayers. You couldn't ask for a better friend. And what a truly special person he is to me and so many others.

What an incredibly busy month November has turned out to be for me! I have been trying to work in a little art here and there so that I can stay sane! Creating art is a great way for me to keep some balance in my life. Here are some of my latest pages. . .

It is no secret that I have been having a love affair with San Francisco, going back to the days we lived there for almost a year, back in 1991-1992. Every opportunity I get, I am there. And if I can't get away, my mind daydreams enough of the time that I find myself walking down those familiar blocks, just like I did all those years ago. It is as I NEVER left the city!

These pages were made with some of the stash that my dear friend, Kelly Kilmer sent to me recently. Kelly gave me an amazing assortment of collage ephemera that has had my creative juices going for the last week! Once again, Kelly, thank you SO much! And just like San Francisco is 1 of my BIG loves, so are skeletons and el dia de los muertos, which is celebrated in Mexico on November 2. Speaking of collage ephemera, I still have 3 collage packs for sale. For more information, refer to my October 17th post and comments posted regarding the collage packs I am selling.