happy christmas-time, new year, and blessings to you...

love, colleen

number 600

welcome to post 600! not much else to say about that...just the acknowledgement of a nice, round number.
I am currently putting off working on an orthographic of an express train. these days life for me revolves around being so so grateful to have a job, to be working doing something even REMOTELY creative...but also wishing i had some time to paint, draw, and sing and go running and see people...but that's just where things are. i know the Lord probably has all kinds of things getting ready to drop into my relatively stable existence, so for now i'll enjoy being able to pay off my student loans :)
Really, though, life outside of the studio has been pretty rad.
There has been an influx of awesome people i know moving to (or back to) the Pasadena area...i'm really enjoying even the small amount of time i get to work on my own art endeavors...and it's been raining this week so the weather outside is AMAZING. all very good things.

Jordan teaching Jeff "cribbage"...

Jordan, Evan, and Alec have a nightly push-up bonding time at 9:36. they call each other pretty much wherever they are and stop and do 2 sets of 25 pushups. last week Jordan pulled over and stopped in a gas station to do his. after Bible study last week the 3 of them and my dad ran into the Meyers' backyard and went for it...

oh yeah, and they take their shirts off.

karaoke at the Miyako hotel last Friday night...Amy is singing her every popular rendition of "My Heart Will Go On". Jeff and i make her do it almost every time we go.

i took this picture of cam, reid, mikey and ethan after church on sunday. i remember when each of these guys was a little boy. now all teenagers, it's a total trip seeing them acting more and more like young men...(some of the time)... it's amazing and scary. will i ever get used to how fast life is flying by??
do i want to?



well, i just found out that a project i spent a good half a day on last week was lost somehow...so i need to get on that. X(

Psalm 103 is amazing. i'm trying to memorize it...and it helps me fall asleep at night...running it through my mind instead of thinking about my insecurities or what i didn't get finished during the day.

~~~

graduations and celebrations

want to see pictures from my graduation...?

click here.

other than that, here are some highlights from the last couple of weeks...

end of the year party in Laguna, 50's themed...this was nearly 2 weeks ago...






hanging out at Pip's one Saturday morning...





a few of my favorite commencement pictures...










oops...spill...mom was the only one who didn't notice...

better


Industry Open House and miscellaneous fun...







Thursday thru Saturday of last week i took care of an elderly woman with Parkinson's. her name is Dee...

after i left her house on Saturday i drove to school and met up with Tiffany and Elizabeth and we spent 8 hours making a present for Beau, who was throwing a graduation party...


some pics from the party...






yay...



more in-depth post in the future. promise.

now
bed.


~~~~~~~~~~

new camera!!!!!

So yesterday i bit the bullet and bought a new camera...just like the other one, but a newer, more improved version.
i'll be able to take videos again! and the pictures will be better!
plus the camera itself is just freaking awesome.
i don't think anyone has any idea how excited i am.

hence the terrifying picture i just took of myself without makeup, still in my pajamas. i don't recommend making it bigger, but it's up to you.


AND my family is going to Disneyland today for my dad's birthday.

let's just hope it doesn't rain...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

rock...tree...!

omigoodness it is so unspeakably beautiful out.

i laid out on the brick wall in the backyard today for a good hour just feeling the sun on my arms. now we're all helping mom garden because it's her birthday.
then some fun time later this evening.

gotta go dig and stuff...


~~~~~~

ps...10 points to whoever 'gets' the title of this post


~~~~~~

so far so good

Here is my painting of Edan so far...keep in mind the color is, in reality, more intense, and the photo is a bit glared where i haven't yet added medium.
i'm very happy with it. lots more to do, though. but that's okay. last night he came into my studio wearing the same shirt, so i got to paint some of it from life...so exciting. someday i'll get to paint actual people from life and i will be so happy...! in about 45 minutes i'm heading up to the main campus to photograph my friend Ashlee for a possible painting and tomorrow i'm hoping to photograph Nick. and there are about 20 others i want to paint too, but we'll see. :P

it's warmer today, i can go outside without 3 layers and a scarf. there were little orange flowers on the hills on my way into Laguna this morning. i made an audible happy sound in my car, even though i was driving all alone.



tonight i get to draw a naked guy. whee!!



~~~~~~

i think...i think...that God has freed me of some things. how this has happened i won't yet say...i've been writing a lot...reading some amazing things...seeing a pattern...

now don't get too excited, colleen. there's a lot that's going to happen soon that will either prove this or dismantle it. i know i still have so much damn fear in me...so much that i almost can't type this because of how much i'm afraid that it's not really true...

but i can't help being a little excited...and terribly scared...but still there's that little bit of excited. it helps.

can't i just trust You...?

Dear Lord.


~

First of all, "JOEY"...

...i was in the process of working on this at the same moment that you so politely commented on my myspace...so, don't go and get all self-righteous on me, thinking, you know, that i was like, "Ooh! Joey told me to update! I had better do so immediately lest he never grace my blog with his supremous presence again!"
(:

Okay...i pretty much haven't had internet access since a week ago...and my dear computer is being terribly frustratingly stupid and i can't get all of my Italy pictures to upload at the moment. So i'm still waiting to post them...garrrumph.
But other happenings are also of worth to feature here, i believe...so here goes!

First of all, Alec's lovely parents, Artie and Helen (hi there!) came to visit us the week after i got home. It was a very wonderful time, in my opinion. Lots of laughter, conversation, and well-mannered frivolity.


Last week i went and saw the new Harry Potter (OOTP) with some friends from school. We are for sure the coolest people in line.

We all took a jaunt over to Wal Mart and bought various snacks which we snuck in stuffed into our pockets and hoods. So rebellious.
Nick, Krystyl and Edan (with his capri sun)...


The next day was the annual conference at Westmont College in Santa Barbara...where various sister-churches from around the country, and people really from around the world, all gather to spend some time in fellowship with the Lord and each other. As you saw very breifly and vaguely in theh post below, He really hit me with some stuff...this last week has been unbelievable...
Here are Sarah and ole James...

And...of course...ULTIMATE FRISBEE...



Words are not enough to describe the intrinsic beauty and greatness that is this picture...


Alec had something in his teeth. Good thing Joey Andrew and Trevor are so nice to help him out.

Lovely cousin Rachel

the abundance of babies (Caid on the far left)


THE BEACH

so much love

and even more love...


some awesomeness


don't forget the brotherly love...


...

and off they go into the sunset...

right after i took this Trevor dropped Brianna and then tripped over her and they...well...lets just say they got really sandy.

The End!



oh yea...and stay cool.