Here we go again.  A lot of medication including daily intramuscular shots with the longest needle you've ever seen ; )

I had been feeling really negative with regards to this process lately.  I just didn't think we'd end up with a baby.  I think, more than anything, I was trying to shield myself.  I don't want to get my hopes up.  I want to stay realistic.  Realistically, our chances for a pregnancy are 50%.  That's not horrible, but also not a guarantee.  So, in order to be a bit more positive, I took a note from 'The Secret', made a sign an posted it throughout the house.

If we do get pregnant, we know it will be a boy and I've been thinking of baby names.  I really wish I hadn't done this, as I feel it's a jinx (I'm all about the jinxes!).  But the damage has been done and I like Luca.  A good friend of mine's mother-in-law suggested we name our next kid something Luca.  I can't remember what she said for the first name, but Luca has stuck with me and as I was thinking of our little one Luca seems right.

So, fingers crossed for a successful thaw and implantation.  I want hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.  Easy, right?!

Well, I feel I got a bit more artsy with this one. I used a pic from a flower in our garden, and the stem is from the same dried flower.  I painted a bit on and around the pic and used chalk to define the torn edges.

 I am so very thankful for my mother.  She raised me as a single mom and has sacrificed so much for me.  She is and has been a great role model and has inadvertently taught me how to be a loving mom, who will do what she needs to do for her kid.  I wouldn't be where am I today without my mom.  She contributes to our family with emotional support, babysitting, loving, money, kindness, thoughtfulness, cleaning, the list could go on...  She is really my hero.

I knew right away that I would use these pictures, the colors were perfect.  I struggled just a little bit this time :P
I used chalk to outline the right hand pic and watercolor to stamp the letters and colored pencil to outline the pics and the letters.  Not too much, but I like the way it turned out.  I'm of course thankful for my little one, but also for our beach vacation that year with family.  It was Matteo's first time at the beach.

I'm really excited!  I just read a Post secret entry on facebook about a few suggestions to living happy and I decided what to do w/ my smash book and consequently with my Summer of Color works.  I'm going to make a gratitude journal.  My first submission on rainbow sherbet works perfectly because I am thankful for yummy ice cream!

The Secret to Happiness?
1. Keep a Gratitude Journal
2. Exercise, Meditate & Eat Better
3. Share Random Acts of Kindness


I am going to try them all, but meditation is new to me, so we'll see.

Here is my first submission to the Summer of Color.  The inspiration was rainbow sherbet.  I struggled initially trying out pastels, water color, colored pencil, and acrylics.  I even experimented in photoshop.  I'm not an artist and felt really intimidated by everyone else's submissions.  I'm going to try to get past that and just enjoy this process.
I ended up using pastels, water color, colored pencil and acrylics to make a mosaic ice cream cone.  I wanted to work more on the title page, but it is what it is.  I'm putting my creations into my new smashbook.
Here's the scanned version for a better view of the detail.

On to next week's inspiration, Mint chocolate chip!