Hi! I'm back! So much has happened since I last blogged!

I ran a marathon and killed it! As you can see from the photo it rained that day. It actually poured the entire time I ran, but that didn't stop me! I beat my last marathon time by 45 minutes, technically. They didn't have people at the right corner telling my group where to turn, so we added an additional .30 miles to the marathon route. I finished at 4:42 minutes, but if we hadn't taken the wrong turn, I would have finished in 4:32 minutes according to my watch. I ended up breaking my PR for time AND distance that day!

I also finished this painting! The woman who commissioned it loved it. She wrote me an e-mail telling me her two sons felt like rock stars when she gave it to them. That totally made my day! She lives in Florida and I somehow managed to time my shipping of the painting with Hurricane Matthew. Luckily it did make it to her, but it was delayed for a few days. Those few delayed days were a little stressful! Thankfully she and her family were fine and the painting arrived undamaged.

We also had a huge election since I last blogged. Unfortunately, for me and for a lot of people I know, the candidate I voted for lost. I'm still not over the loss. I'm not sure I ever really will be. The president elect scares and angers me. His ideas on women's health, immigration, health insurance and basic civil rights are the complete opposite of what I feel is good for the country. Knowing that so many people voted for him, and from what I've been reading, why they voted for him, is beyond all my comprehension. 

Honestly,  I've been kind of in a dark place since the election. I've just had an overwhelming feeling of fear and sadness. I've been trying to make art and trying to stay away from social media. I don't want to ignore what's going on in the world, but being exposed to it all day wears on me mentally. By the end of the day I feel emotionally exhausted. I also know that I can't get away from it completely. I rely on social media to promote my work and this website. I think right now, limiting exposure to it is the only thing that will help.

I've been trying to help out organizations that I feel strongly about, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, BARK, and even a little Boston Terrier Rescue in Southern California (which probably won't have any impact from our president elect, but I'm for helping BTs). I'm hoping to get out and do some volunteer work when Crafty Wonderland is over, and I have some more time to dedicate to that. I'm looking into volunteering at 350PDX, a local environmental organization.

I know it's important to be involved and I want to try to get out there and help if I can. It's also hard to do when you're an introvert like me. It's hard for me to get out of my comfort zone. In my mind I know that I will feel better to get out and be proactive, but there's also part of my mind that just wants to donate money instead of my time... Which is fine, but I feel that being actively involved would help too.

Anyway, maybe you feel the same way. Maybe you don't and that's okay too. It feels good to be working on this blog again. Hopefully it will provide a nice space for me to voice my opinions and share my work with you!