Day 365. I DID IT!

This is it!  The very last day.  Geez, I have been painting and painting today trying to get this big thing in my head out onto the canvas, truckin' along fine, but when I typed that title and those first three words, I started crying!  What can I say, I'm an emotional girl.

And with that being said, please let me thank all of you who have supported me.  Your generous comments and likes, words of encouragement, purchases of my art--seriously, I don't know how I would have gotten through without them.  People I have never met, you know who you are, were so supportive as well and were there with me almost the entire way!  So many friends and acquaintances gave me incredible gifts of words, that left me swelling inside and speechless.  I don't know what I did to deserve you, but thank you!  My mom and husband heard my insecurities and exhaustion and frustration, and triumphs, too, more than anyone.  Thank you for putting up with me! Thank you God and Ebert for helping me through! One thing I was going to include on this canvas, but ran out of room, was a roller coaster to represent my emotions through all of this.  Oftentimes, it was a lonely journey.  You have to plug along when you're tired, or sick and tired, through sheer force of will.  I'm grateful I learned this valuable lesson.  I hope I'm not scaring anyone from pursuing your own 365-day project, because that lesson should be felt by everyone!

Finally, thank you musicians of the world, for providing me with background music that helped me not only get through this project, but through life in general.  I can't state enough how much your talents mean to my entire life.

Love to all, thank you so, very, very much for coming along for the ride, and Merry Christmas!

"Yo, Adrian, I mean Jill!  You did it!"

"SOB!  Thank you cartoon Rocky.  You inspired me the whole way!"

 "How did you do it?"

"Well, Reporter Man, I barely remember, but here are some clues."

(Now you know what all those "Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, DAH, dah, dah dahs were for!  "Gonna Fly Now......!")

Physical Changes:  

 

 

Innocent bystander:  "Oops!  You have black mascara under your eyes."  

Me: "No, those are dark circles.  I have not slept for a year."

Other problems:  The disappearing rear end from too much sitting.
Me:  "Where's my Brazilian Butt Lift video?"

Further sitting repercussions:

Second bystander--not so innocent:  "Oh, um, have you put on a few pounds?'

Me:  "Oh, yeah, just a few."

Reporter Man:  "You know, no one asked you to do this.  No one owes you a compliment."

Me:  "Oh, I know."

 

Me:  Um, can I have my Olympic Gold Medal now?" (-;

SYNOPSIS:  Following through...worth it all!

The last two songs that got me through, played repeatedly ad nauseam (well, it wasn't ad nauseam to me).

Joe Satriani and Grace Potter singing Neil Young's, "Cortez the Killer" live.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, "Backstreets," studio version.

Day 134. Walking in Bath Water

During the summers when I was 16 and 17, my family and another family vacationed together at Kentucky Lake.  We all shared one cabin and during the day we'd go swimming, waterskiing, hiking, and horseback riding (I had a jet-black horse named "Rocky."  A cosmic connection in my mind since that was one of my favorite movies.)

Anyway, I remember swimming in that lake.  The water was fairly cold, but then suddenly you would swim to a spot where you could feel warm water swirling around your legs.  It was heavenly--almost as if you were floating vertically in a comforting, warm bath, the sun's rays lulling you into a half-conscious state.

That's what the weather felt like Tuesday and Wednesday (5/7 and 5/8) with it's gentle warm breezes and soft sun.  It was as if I were walking around in warm bath water.

Day 44. "You Parted Your Hair Differently" (No Longer Available)

Here's another gal that's one of a kind. My friend Cassie Bruce is funny and smart as a whip. And see, she has one of those sharp, quick-witted minds--like acid laced with honey. (-;  Cutting edge, man, but a heart of gold.  Watch out for Cassie, world, she's the type that people underestimate, and she's got more going on than anyone knows.

My friend Shelley says we're like that, too.  That people underestimate us and don't realize that we're smart, because we laugh a lot.  I'm laughing now!  Boy, could we/I sound any vainer? ¡Dios Mio! (I'm going to leave the admission, though, because sometimes that's what good friends say to each other.)  But, Shelley, Cassie, and I like being "Columbo-like" (hmm, the 2nd time I've mentioned Columbo is this blog.  One of my childhood idols?  Perhaps, so!)  I was little, little when my mom used to watch Peter Falk fumble and mumble his way through investigations.  People always slipped and told him little snippets of details that would skewer them like a shish kebob in the end, because they thought he was dumb-dee-dumb-dumb.

It's like being a Rocky.  And while I drew and painted and wrote tonight, I cued up "Rocky" on my computer and watched/listened to it.  I like tender-hearted underdogs.  Maybe because I'm feeling that way right now...or maybe it's because I see people like Cassie, working 2 jobs, raising a little girl with her man, going to school, and being smarter and more wonderful than people know.

This is a little conversation we had today.  P.S., this looks nothing like Cassie.  ha! (-;

Me:  "Your hair looks cute.  You parted it differently today."
Cassie:  "It was cuter in the morning."
Me:  "What happened?  A hat?  The wind?
Cassie: "Life."

There's all sorts of full-length "Columbo" episodes on YouTube.  Here's just a little peek at him for all you youngsters out there.  I had forgotten that he was always referring to his wife. (-:  I told you, I was just a itty, bitty pipsqueak then!