I love lists. In fact I make lists of lists and must rewrite my list over and over just to make sure that I have everything covered. I cannot live with out my To Do list. Since most of the time my lists have to do with work and what I need to get done, I thought it would be a nice break to start making lists just for me. And I invite any of you to post and share your list as well in the comments area.

It seems that recently that many people in their attempts to save the world, which is a good thing, seem to also reject and negatively react to the idea of being selfish. I know that it is unrealistic to believe that you can be selfish and do what makes you happy all the time but for many of us (me for one) who have lived most of our lives for other people and doing what we think other people want us to do, being selfish is a difficult and challenging idea. So after this long-winded explanation my first list is called "Give Yourself a Break! Dare to be Selfish! Me! Me! Me! List." This list is of all of the things that usually make me feel guilty but are all about me doing what makes me happy. I choose to be happy without feeling guilty!

Give Yourself a Break! Dare to be Selfish! Me! Me! Me! List
1. When someone asks me what I do I will say "I am an artist" without apology.
2. Spend an entire day in the studio painting and creating without a To Do list. Just let it flow.
3. Take the afternoon off for spirituality and go to a yoga class, enjoy a chai latte and sketch.
4. Spend an entire day with my husband without turning on the computer or looking at the To Do list. Go to an afternoon movie; order a pizza for dinner and drink my husband's fancy margaritas; and make hot fudge brownie sundaes (another specialty of my husband's).
5. Buy a new pair of shoes.

That's it for now. Please share your happiness list below. The next list will be "Live your Dreams! Follow your Heart! No Fear."

The end of summer celebration begins right now! My husband surprised me last night that he has today off (but unfortunately he has to work tomorrow. he's doing a review of a concert.) so I might be shifting my painting schedule around a little and do more work tomorrow. Actually a little break might be good. And tonight we are going to see one of my favorite bands, Dressy Bessy. They are a local band and just released a new album that is very fun pop music. So we will be rockin and rollin late into the night. So check them out.

And the fun doesn't stop there ... tonight the Broncos play the Seattle Seahawks in the last preseason game, and tomorrow is the big CU (university of colorado in boulder, my alma mater) vs. CSU game. My Buffs have had a tough time the last few years against CSU so it is our time. I am pretty much a football freak so I am very excited that football season is underway.

And it is unbelievable that it could get any better then all this ... but it does. During the morning walk with Scout the Dog, she found a magical treasure ... a semi-deflated basketball. This has become her absolute favorite thing in the entire world and is now tormenting us and the cat. But she if very happy and that is what counts.

Well we did it ... we got the scooter. So if you live in the Denver Metro area keep an eye out for the official ScoutDog Studios Scooter. It will be great to have a quick way to get around and visit some of my clients in the area without having to arm wrestle my husband for use of the car on a daily basis. ;)

Today was great for another reason as well ... I got to meet some happy, fun dogs at a couple of doggy daycares in the area and also got some great feedback about my work. Now I have to fight the urge to hit the roads and cruise around on the scooter for a while so that I can do some work in the studio. It is days like today that reenergize me and make me so thankful for everything that has happened so far.

And as one of my new passionate, crazy dog loving friends mentioned in her weblog ... "wow, my hard work is really paying off-that sure feels good!"

Well it's official ... i'm not superwoman and I can't (and don't want to) do everything perfectly.

After a long weekend of soul searching and long talks with my husband (who, as a side note, is the most amazing and supportive person. I can't express how much he means to me and how much I love him.) I have made a big decision. A year ago I decided to go back to school to get my MBA because I wanted to get some more business knowledge but mostly because I thought it was what I should do. Well now I have decided that it is time to take a semester off so that I can focus all of my energy on ScoutDog Studios. I still just get so wrapped up in what other people think and disappointing people and making the wrong decision that I forget to listen to myself and what I think is the right thing to do.

It is so frustrating that I still worry about what other people think. I know that there is no one right way to live your life. I am the only one who knows what is best for me and I decided that right now that is giving 100% of my energy to trying to make my business a success. I can always go back to school and finish up my MBA if this doesn't work out but I have such good feelings that this is what I should be doing that I want to go for it.

After quitting my job over a year ago and now putting a hold on school, I feel like this is really it. It's now or never baby. And I am going for it. I just have to remind myself of the words of wisdom that a little boy said once while walking past my booth at an art fair ... "Dogs are funny."

"Risk! Risk Anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth." - Katherine Mansfield

Well my day in the studio was great and renewed my feeling of that this is what I am suppose to be doing with my life. Hopefully it will keep the doubt and fear at bay for a few weeks. And while in the studio I came up with some new ideas for portraits. Also I received a couple of calls from some local stores that are interested in seeing more of my work and set up those meetings for next week so it will be some busy days in the studio.

In other news ... my husband and I went shopping for the first ScoutDog Studios Company Car ... well not exactly a car but a cool scooter (photo above). We have been using one car for about a year and decided we need some additional transportation. We should be able to pick it up on Tuesday and then I will be zippin' around the streets of downtown Denver with art in tow. So keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.

Often I get so wrapped up with what I think I have to do that I forget about doing what I love to do. One of the reasons that I finally decided to quit the corporate rat race and follow my passion and dreams was so I could make my own path and not have to follow a strict 9-5 schedule. But often when I spend so many days alone in the studio I start to doubt my self and my decisions.

But not today because I have declared this Friday, August 22, 2003 as ScoutDog Art Day. Today will be a day of painting and creating and exploring new ideas that I have wanted to try ... and i promise this will be done without excuses or apologies. So I am turning off the phone and the computer and heading into the studio.

To help inspire the day I have updated the website with some new paintings and leave you with the following quote of the week ...

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

(L to R) Leigh the Little Sis, Beth the Mom, and me. (Photo circa 1980)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
Today is my mom's birthday. In celebration I thought I would offer a little blast from the past with a photo of the girls from 1980. My mom has long since cut off the braids but is just as beautiful. She is a very strong and feisty woman. I'm very proud of all that she has done with her life. She has taught me to never give up on your dreams and to not be afraid to take on a challenge. Love you mom. Happy Birthday.

"Me" (photo by my hubby Matt) and "Lion")

I guess the photo above is what happens when you spend a little too much time in your studio painting ScoutDog and her friends. My husband snapped this off me during a painting break. And the other photo is the newest addition to the ScoutDog and Friends paintings. Today was a busy day of working on an order from a local store for the In the Wild and On the Farm paintings and baby products.

Today has been a busy day of creating and organizing. Yesterday I met with the owner of one of my favorite stores to discuss selling some of my products there. It went well and now I am working on getting the order ready for delivery next week. It looks like I will be selling some of my scoutdog paintings and prints as well as some baby onesies and bibs with dogs; jungle, farm and forest animals.

Also I updated the website with some new product experiments, including embroidered onesies and pillowcase skirts. (Thanks to my mother-in-law Sue for giving me some hands-on classes in San Diego last week when we were there on vacation.) www.scoutdogstudios.com.

And finally I added the new ScoutDog friends ... including In the Wild, On the Farm and In the Forest.

Well there is still more to do so back to work and creating.

Welcome to ScoutDog Studios and our new weblog. I decided to add this feature to the website so that I can share and get feedback on my daily learning experiences at trying to get ScoutDog Studios up and running.

To get this journal started I will share a little about myself ... I started ScoutDog Studios a little over a year ago after leaving my 8 year career as a newspaper website editor and designer. I knew that I always wanted to be an artist and decided that it was finally time to take the big plunge and quit the corporate job and try to make it on my own. I started doing freelance web design work and eventually I started painting dog portraits and doing art fairs. I would never go back to the corporate job but as many of you know this is a scary yet exhiliarating experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. But it is great to share these experiences with all of you because some days you can feel very alone in the world working from home.

As for the rest of my life ... I live with my husband, Matt, (we got married on Oct. 11, 2002) dog, Scout, and cat, Izzy. They are my inspiration and support. (Also Matt is the music critic for a newspaper in Boulder and he has a weblog as well. Check it out at http://www.boulderatnight.com/sebastian).

Well I think that's a good start but there will be more added soon.