Cards, Commissions, and College!

I just finished a new card today. Actually, I've had most of the art done for several days, but I just now got around to putting it all together. Now I have five or six cards to put on Etsy, plus four Christmas cards. My goal is to finish designing and painting ten more by my birthday in March. Then I'll start the Etsy shop in mid-April. I hope.
Too bad things don't always go according to plan, eh?
Ten weeks to do ten cards. That's just one card per week! I can handle that, can't I? Y'all heard me say that, right? Someone please come shoot me if I don't. (no, please don't really do that. It's not nice. But you could come give me a stern talking-to if I don't.)
Oh, and I'll be busy over the next 10 months as I work on a commission: several paintings my Grandma wants by Christmas. I've got a busy year ahead of me!

I broke in my new palette the other day. It's so great to have a large surface to spread all my colors over, and not having to wash out colors to make room for others! And the new paintbrushes are great.
Yep, I know, I'm crazy. But crazy's not all that bad, is it?
(stop laughing at me)

Mom says that maybe I should pursue one of my other interests in college, rather than art. Art classes are expensive, and I may want to spend the money on something more worth-while and productive. So, for the present, I'm researching Elementary Education at Whitefield college, which would be distance education courses. My friend did her college work through them, and said she enjoyed it. We'll see. But, even if I do that, I plan on taking a few watercolor classes at the community college eventually.

~Kiwi~

I haven't got a title for this one...

Hello, peoples.

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. On Sunday we almost didn't have volleyball. The two guys who normally set it up and tell everyone where to be and when to be there, weren't going to be there. So I went over and asked Alex if he knew anything about volleyball that day. He did all the conferencing and I just showed up. Dad brought the boys along to play with a family from church who were having a picnic. So dad played, too, and he's pretty good. It was a good day for me; I served first for my team in every game, but only my first serve went wild! After that I scored at least 2 points every time I served. :) It made me happeh.

My teams only won one game out of 6, but that wasn't for lack of trying! I dove more on Sunday than ever before. And I really think I'm better than I used to be.

Monday we went down to IA to clean house. Oh. My. Goodness. It was a MESS! The kitchen had crumbs and food all over the counters, food left in the fridge, caramel corn in a sticky little pile by the wall....At some point in time, a feather pillow ripped open in the master bedroom, adding feathers to the pizza crusts, socks, and doggie mess on the floor....Baby medicine and dog mess in the baby's room....Piles of crumpled-up newspaper and dog..stuff in the basement, along with dirty laundry and the dogs' blankets......Oh. It was awful. I have never loved rubber gloves so much in my life. I'll have to ask Mom about putting a few pictures of it on here.

But we got it cleaned, with the help of Avalon, Catfreak, & their sisters, my Grandpa, and my friend Megan, who I hadn't seen in 10 months!! I'm so glad we have good friends.

Tuesday we cleaned house more. I surprised another friend, which was so much fun! she had no clue I was going to be there! so we hung out for several hours, cleaning house, goofing off....

Today I haven't been doing anything of importance. I watched "Chisum" starring John Wayne. As soon as I get around to it, I'll put reviews of that and "Bye Bye Birdie" on my Old Movie Blog. It was a decent movie, although it seemed that the tv station cut it.

So that's what's happening, in a nutshell.

I finished another card front on Sunday. Here's a pic:

It belongs to the same series of cards as that Zinnia one. I think the third card will be a pink rose, perhaps, because that means "friendship."

Hm.
I'm playing a lot of the multiplayer games on www.gamesgames.com. If you ever join the site, my player name is thatKiwigirl.

My friend Avalon and my other friend Catfreak want me to re-introduce them to y'all. Go check out their blogs! They don't have much on them *ahem* but with a bit of encouragement... I'd suggest going to Avalon's first post, because she started a mystery story there. BUT she needs to CONTINUE the STORY because she just LEFT US HANGING there...Perhaps we should comment blitz her again.

okay, I have nothing left to say, except remember that the Feelin' Feminine Challenge starts this Monday!

Baibaiz

~Kiwi~

hola, folks!

Hello. I just noticed that it had been a few days since I last posted, so I decided to post again. :D

Today, Sis and I are going to the mall with Short Stuff, J. Shrimp, and KK. Mom and Dad are in IA, sorting stuff out about our other house. The people living there now are moving out on Sunday, so we have to go down Sunday afternoon/Monday morning to clean the house before it's put back on the market. *sigh* I don't like cleaning house after us, much less people I don't even know! I hope they leave it neat.

Saturday's wedding was pretty. The bride & bridesmaids had pretty dresses....You know how some bridesmaid's dresses couldn't be worn anywhere else, no matter how much people say "oh, you could wear that many other places"? These you could wear to church. They were nice, but not terribly fancy.

They didn't decorate the church much, just some flowers around the candles and on the reserved front rows. Julie's colors were blue and yellow. My friend Short Stuff made the cake. I hope she puts up a picture of it! We didn't get to go to the reception, so I didn't get to see it. :(

Our neighbors invited us over to a cookout in their front yard. It's the thought that counts. It was very nice of them to invite us, but it was so.....boring....! Everyone there was 40 or so, and they all knew each other, but we didn't. Most of the half hour spent there was listening to other's conversations. I wish I could have gone to the reception instead. There was food and cake and dancing, and even a double rainbow! *doublesigh*

On Sunday we had Kris and her sister over for lunch and volleyball. It was impromptu, which made it all the more fun!

Volleyball was okay, but I'm never going 3 weeks without playing volleyball again! I wasn't at my best. And then we had extra players, so we rotated into the serving spot. That doesn't work for me. I can't just leave the game, then come back 5-10 minutes later and serve well.

By the way, does anyone know a polite way to say "Andy (or fill in any name) that was my ball! Go play in your own 'zone' and let me play in mine!"? Because saying it that way sounds mean, but sometimes it needs to be said!

Yesterday I hung around for a while, then Sis and I went to the church ballgame. 'We' won two out of three games! I wish I was good at baseball, but I hate batting. I'm not good enough to hit consistently, and I feel silly standing there, striking out! My catching isn't too bad, and I love running. Need to work on my aim some. I think I'll just stick to volleyball.

'Twas mildly annoying. I sat between a girl named Kelsey and a boy, Evan, during one of the games. There was one conversation 'loop' going on from Kelsey on down the bleachers away from me, and another 'loop' starting with Evan and headed away. So I was kind of stuck between two 'loops.' It wasn't all bad, I guess, but sometimes when I came in at the end of an interesting-sounding conversation, or I couldn't really break into a conversation....

Okay, I'll leave you with a few pictures:

That's the oil painting I did a month or two ago.

Here are the outside and inside of my latest card, the one I was talking about in my last post.

Front:

Inside:
(I know it's sloping downhill here, but in the actual card it is straightened and done in 'stairstep' style.)

Last, but not least, is the painting I did for the Downhere tee-shirt contest. I ended up not actually getting to put it on a tee shirt because of lack of time. Instead, I just did the postcard entry, with that on the postcard. Across the sun is supposed to be "Hope is Rising," but I didn't put it straight onto the painting. I just added it digitally.

Oh, I almost forgot.
I'm thinking of doing the "Feeling Feminine Challenge" next week, just for the fun of it. I don't think that skirts are always more modest than pants (it all depends on the skirt or pair of pants itself and where you're wearing it to), but I have noticed how I act differently (different?) when wearing a skirt. I will wear pants for volleyball, though, because in my opinion they're more practical. Would anyone care to join me? We can blog about it together, and post pictures!

Maybe some of the girls who live nearby? *coughShortStuffJShrimpKKLadyFlorimelcough* :D

So, that's what I'm up to. :) What about you-all? What are you doing? Does anyone have an answer to my volleyball-related question?

See ya!

~Kiwi~

paintings

Here's a quick picture of my latest painting project:

In Victorian times, different flowers had different meanings. The pink rose, for example, meant "friendship," while the Pansy meant "loving thoughts." Here I sketched out a zinnia, then filled it in with color. The zinnia means "thoughts of friends," and (hopefully) will be in my next card!
~Kiwi~

(to view it better, click it.)

Blah Blah Blah, Yackety Yack Yack Yack, Yammer Yammer......(aka "Another Boring Post That Few Shall Actually Read")

That's an encouraging title, isn't it? I should rename it. I'll try to make it sound exciting, and make you want to read it b'cuz it looks interesting, and then squash your hopes with yet another dry, boring post. :D Yes, it would be mean and misleading, but last time I checked, it's a Free Blogosphere, people! If you got a problem wi' dat, you'll just have ta deal wid it!

Note to those who may not have read my blog before and may be slightly scared by that first paragraph: Don't worry, I'm just in a slightly stinky mood, which doesn't happen often. Continue reading and relax.

Someone (who shall remain anonymous, but she commented in the last post) told me that the 'Guess the Song' game was too hard. I admit, I tried to make it difficult, but I suppose other people just don't know their songs well enough to sing them all the way through and pick out the obscure phrases I used. So, you peeps have two choices:

1: Go back and try to figure out the songs, or

2: Wait for my next post, where I shall post slightly more well-known phrases from the same songs, but if you guess there you'll only get half the points.

3: (I know, I said 2 choices, but I changed my mind!) Just don't play.

Whatever you want. "The Reader is *Almost* Always Right!" is my motto.

We have passed the 100 comment mark in our Comment Blitz of Avalon, but methinks we are all getting bored with it. I know I'm starting to. Isn't that an awful thing? Getting tired of a movement you started? It's like.......*tries to come up with a good example*.........Skittles getting tired of watching Monk. Now that would be sad. (I know, that's not a perfect example, but I can't think of anything else.) I might start copying the comments from earlier this Blitz and re-using them on the same post. Can't you imagine Avalon's surprise when she sees two- or three-hundred comments?? I'd want to be there to see her face. *hopes Avalon is not reading this*

A Sudden Awful Thought: what if this doesn't work??? What if she is desensitized to the horrors of our Blitz??? What can we possibly think up that's worse? Hmm. Perchance, if our little Blitz fails (I wonder, what does 'fail' actually mean? C'mon, Kommander Kiwifruit never fails! If she failed, she wouldn't be Kommander Kiwifruit. She'd be Private Kiwifruit in charge of bathroom-floor-scrubbing-with-toothbrush! Have faith in me!.......and pray that it's not misplaced. ;P'), I will ask y'all for suggestions.

ho hum.

I have finished my cards! Not officially, 'cuz I haven't printed any out yet, but they're finished! Now, on to my next painting project, and then............(the following is to be said in a 'CHARGE!!!'-like manner) ETSY!!!!! And then (hopefully).......MONEY!!!! And then.......STUFF MONEY CAN BUY!!!!!! Like cds, tee shirts, concerts, dvds, ipods, cameras, COMPUTERS, cruises, cruises in the Bahamas, cruises to Hawaii, cruises in the Mediterranean, cruises to the Rockies, cruises, music cruises, etc, etc, etc.

Anywho. I need to print one out to send to my Great-Grandma, who sent me a Christmas present, and to whom I have not yet sent a thank-you card. I started out designing a thank-you card to send her but got sidetracked. I'll have to send her one of these to show that I really was doing something of importance, not ungrateful.

We went Kite Flying on Tuesday. We have a two-handled (trick) kite, which I like immeasurably better than the plain ole one-stringed kite. And yesterday it was calmer but we still flew the trick kite. It was perfect yesterday (except, Rapunzel says, for the cold weather, the this, the that, and all the rest.), so calm and peaceful. The kite, instead of shooting up into the air when released, just sauntered up slowly and calmly. It was a lot easier to control, so I could do 'swoopties' to either side with it, or even loopdeloops.

Today 12-yr-old-bro and I, Kirsten, Jumbo Shrimp, and their brother went into the woods for a while and practised punching each other. That needs a little explanation, I think. Punching as in faux-punches. For movies. 'Tis fun. I got to beat Kirsten up several times. :D We were working on shoulder-punches today. Next up, punches-to-the-nose. >:0D (<- evil-smiley-face with swollen nose)

Now, I'm going to announce a new nickname for 12-yr-old-bro. This one actually makes sense and will stick for a while. Jordan. Have any of you ever seen the Bernie Mac Show?

If you haven't and want to, be forewarned: you have to pick and choose the episodes carefully, and then keep your finger ready on the mute button.

Jordan is a lot like my brother. A Lot like my brother. (Or is my brother a lot like Jordan?.........)

Mom is making me end my post now, so goodbye.

~Kiwi~

P.S. Duncan Phillips has a blog!! And he likes LOST, too!!! Smart person. He's all the smarter if he can explain to me what's happening (in LOST). I'm LOST. :D

For Lack of a Better Subject....For Lack of Any Subject, actually

I have many subjects for this blogpost.

For one thing, y'all are doing awesomely well on the Comment Blitz! We're up to 74 comments.....in a mere week! Owan and Judi, you people are totally fantastic! I loved the recycling of comments, Owan, and Judi's spelling out of that (difficult yet popular) word 'Post!!!' was good. Keep it up! We are already near to breaking the record.

Um. Drat. I had most of a post written out on paper, but have lost the paper. Hmph.
I have been tagged by a Friend of Narnia, so I suppose I'll do that.

1.YOUR REAL NAME: Kiwi Elizabeth Fruit (Note: Kiwi Elizabeth Fruit is not quite my real name, but it'll work, won't it?)

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother and fathers middle names): Carol Keith

3.NASCAR NAME (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad): Robert Loran

4.STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name): Fruki (Cool! That'll be my next blogger-name)

5.DETECTIVE NAME(favorite color, favorite animal): Black Horse

6.SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, town where you were born): Elizabeth Moline

7.SUPERHERO NAME (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning): the Red Mountain Dew (a.k.a. "Code Red" Mountain Dew! That worked out really well.)

8.FLY NAME (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name): Kiit

9.ROCK STAR NAME (current pets name, current street name): Angus Rink (Computers count as pets, don't they? and Rink is a former address. Yes, I cheat. Boo hoo.)

10.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle): Kiwizzle
So yup. Those are my multiple names. :D Another pointless tag.

How about some 'guess the song'? Another rather 'pointless' game, but kind of fun to do...if you're good with contemporary Christian music.

The Rules:
1. Guess the Title of the Song, the Artist(s), and the Album.
2. You are not allowed to look up anything on the Internet, your personal files, or your ipod, or your mp3 player. Your only resources are your memory or someone else's memory. (Oh, and your computer's memory is off-limits!)
3. Five points for correct song title, five for correct artist, five for correct album.
4. Follow all the rules!!!

Got the rules down? Okay, let's go!

1. I'll guard your heart. With quiet words I'll lead you in.

2. Back to the first love I ever knew!

3. I’ve never lied. Well, I guess I’ve told a few.

4. I'm so blue, so blue

5. But I could never live in a yurt on a diet of Mongolian barbecue

6. Haunted by each heartbreak and mistake, I've let weigh me down

7. Sometimes I still never see when perfect opportunities come my way

8. And that's everything you've ever needed and it's all you've got

9. I know I was wrong and I've made some mistakes

10. Where's your treasure, where's your hope if you get the world and lose your soul?

11. But I know what you meant to say instead was really that you wanted us to run away

12. It’s for the poor, the broken and the meek, it’s for the ones who look a lot like you and me

13. You're always good, always good to me.

14. It's not living if you don't reach for the sky

15. Lift up your head my dear friend this tunnel does have an end
Goodbye, and good luck.

Um. There wuz something more I wanted to say. Drat. Again.
I finished a new set of cards! Now I must scan them, design the card, and they'll be ready to print and sell once I get an Etsy set up.

Oh, yeah! The mini-survey I conducted! Here're the results in no particular order:

Adam Agee:
1. espn
2. grand cayman, cayman islands
3. hoo hoo

Skittles:
1. Chocolate!!
2. Greece
3. NIGHT CRICKET!!!

Blueh:
1. Fun weakness? newsboys. ALL THINGS NEWSBOYS.
2. NEW ZEALAND. :D That's where my best friend is. :D
3. I'm both! A night AND morning person! :D If I had the stamina, I'd stay up for a full 24 hours. Which I've only done ONCE. :P

Guitargirl:
1- I'm gonna have to go with Blueh on this one; newsboys :-)
2- Concerts
3- I'm not sure. I can actually be a grouch anytime; it doesn't have to just be in the morning or night ;)

Judi:
1: Music..I have 150 cds..and still not enough..
2: There's this little walk way outside my youth building at church that I just LOVE to take walks on in the morning..I could go back and forth..so while it's not Italy or anything..it's a pretty place..
3: Night person..absolutely..I'm a creature of the night :-)

Owan:
#1 That would be Down Under the Big Top. ;)
#2 I want to go everywhere. I want to tour America and Canada and visit the British Commonwealth, mainly. Also Russia and France.
#3 I'm a afternoon person, I think.

Matt:
1. Music. That shouldn't shock anyone. :D
2. Umm, I don't know.
3. Night owl. Definitely

Pooky's Girl:
1. Candy that does not contain chocolate.
2. Home (ie, Iowa).
3. Night owl to the extreme. Of course, having insomnia does not help things...

Kirsten:
1. Coffee with chocolate creamer (It's so satisfying).
2. Peninsula State Park, Door County, Wisconsin.
3. Night Owl.

Friend of Narnia:
1. Chocolate
2. Bear Mountain, New York! (or anywhere in the mountains in NY, for that matter)
3. Night owl!!! Tina and Emmie and I were up till 2AM after you guys left on Monday! ;D And that's it. So we have no morning peeps reading this? That's good. Morning people annoy me when they get up early and wake me. Mom says it'll serve me right if I married a morning person. Okay, that is now a requirement: any boyfriend of mine must be a night owl! :D

What else? My friend, Jumbo Shrimp, has joined our community! I'll let y'all jump on over to her blog, if you want. She has a good poem by Shel Silverstein on right now. Hi Jumbo Shrimp!
I wish that Blogger had the same sort of deal as Juno. They (Juno) say that if you refer a friend to Juno, you get $30. Well, my friends Avalon, Catfreak, Kirsten, and Jumbo Shrimp have all been inspired by Yours Truly to join, I should get....*does some math*........$120!
Um, yes. I'm running out of things to say. Oh, Avalon and Catfreak: email me with the email addresses you use for blogging, and I can invite y'all to join a blog I created for us! We can use it like Myspace or Facebook, only just with us. (sorry to leave the rest of y'all out. :)

And methinks that's about it. Boy, can this post get any boringer?

Official Apology:
I apologize for all the boringness on this post. I apologize for the extreme lack of news on this post. I apologize for making you fall asleep during this post. I apologize for anything offensive in this post, unless I meant to offend you. I apologize for taking nigh a week to post this. I apologize for anything else you can think of.

Goodbye.
~Kiwi the boring Fruit~

P.S. I just remembered! Skittles awarded me!!

Isn't it lovely? It's my first blog award. I loves my blog award. :)

There are some rules for this:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude
* Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
* Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award
Here are the blogs I nominate:
Jumbo Shrimp
Kirsten
HMS Avalon
Catfreak
Owan
Guitargirl
Dagmar
Matt
Heather
Judi
Zoe

Okay, now that really is everything I have to say at the moment. G'day, mates!