Artists Deals Online

Hello World.
I am writing this blog to assist in finding some good deals on amazon for all my fellow artists. I don't know if other artists obsess with their artist arrangement. Or I should say art area , Do you have to sit on the floor ? Is your Easle just a little old and rickety?

This is my current easel
Three legged easle with drawer and a pallet! I think I got it on sale too for about 70.00 !! It is on sale now too.

Art Alternatives Sonoma Sketchbox Easel
.......
I must have had at least 15 years and I love it but it is kinda hard to fit in my little tiny living space but this is the best bet if you live in a small area or you like to travel a lot because it folds up.

Is your Drafing table not ideal (mine does not have a good flat angle on it )and what about all those supplies.
Here is a great drafting table but there is not a black friday discount on it the price is really good considering how much this would help my back!
.............
Tangkula Drafting Table Art & Craft Drawing Desk Art Hobby Folding Adjustable w/ Stool (Pink)
I love this one but it is not glass and therefore you can not use it to trace. This is fine for beginners.


How do you fit all your supplies in the area when you are lining up 3 canvases?
I actually use a plastic tool box it was my hubby's but the plastic does not do soo well with that much weight in it. So he gave it to me for my art but in reality what would be better would be something that you could attach to the wall at arms lenth.
Trunkcratepro Collapsible Portable Multi Compartments Trunk Organizer, Black
These are some questions all artists have faced. I used to live in a large place but now I am in a single wide trailer and I may be here for a long long time. So how do I make all this art in this small area. Oddly I have a drafting table and I have a easle but neither are all that helpful. both cause me great back aches...... the easiest way to paint is with the completely dry canvas sitting on top of me on the couch this is a super big NO NO right lol! How do you make it easy to get those details on the canvas without having to wallow in paint.
My Drafting table does not go straight up and down and I feel that is the only way that you can really get those good details.
Tangkula Drafting Table Tangkula Adjustable Drawing Desk Rolling Drafting Table Tempered Glass Top Art Craft

Light box is mandatory as well but with this table you can just put a light behind it. But incase you dont know what I am talking about here is a light box it is like a tablet bit it is just a light that you can draw on. Maybe your Mom is like mine and saved every single pretty photo she ever took for you to draw. (not to mention everyone else in your family) You can easliy put it on the light box and trace it and get that work done DOUBLE TIME! No it not cheating Working smarter not harder is the goal and your longevity of your hands is something I wish I had embrased a lot earlier instead of giving my self some kind of guilt trip.
A4 Ultra-thin Portable LED Light Box Tracer USB Power Cable Dimmable Brightness LED Artcraft Tracing Light Pad Light Box for Artists Drawing Sketching Animation Designing Stencilling X-ray Viewing
I don't know if any of you have seen Jim Carey Paint but this man knows whats up he put a ladder down over the canvas and practically lays down on his art. Inspired.
#jimcarey #yourock
Some of my favorite artists have a room dedicated to the art unlike me where i do art all over the place.(I used to and it was sooo awesome !!) I do acrylic pours in the kitchen and oil paint in the living room NOT A GOOD IDEA this is why you should buy my art so I can get a studio going thanks in advance.
Everytime I go shopping I need this list sooo bad here I am making it for me and for you too Acrylic pour To do list
Liquitex Pouring Meduim

Liquitex Professional Pouring Effects Medium, 32-oz
Acrylic Paints
Big bottle of very high proof alchol
like 90 or better

everclear lol I found this but it appears to be sold out at the moment I have no idea what alchol varnish is for but I am sooo intregued to find out ! But it is 80$$$
.... NEW Alchol varnish powder
and be sure to add some metalic and glitter if you want it to feel like the painting is calling out to you like a glistening eye.

Here is a really great deal on acrylic paint I have to warn you though when it comes to paint sometimes it is better not to take advantage of sales because ususally that means this is the paint that does not sell. But I have noticed with liquid pours the cheaper the better less mixing to do soo it is definately and experimental project,..................

Oil on canvas Ok here is the problem painting with oils it takes forever to dry. If you are a professional artist trying to get this out fast it is not a good idea to go for thinning oil paint out with oil. But it is far less toxic.
So if you are like me you probably were taught to use liquin or paint thinner and that is great if you are in a school project or a professional project that has time constraints but if you are opening a gallery you should not use toxic thinners because people think that the paint is what is toxic which some colors are more toxic than others. The paint thinner is the most toxic . Of course there is water soluble paints that is less toxic and I recommend this especially if you paint in your house where you have nosey children that may get into it or bad cats. I do so I have to use the less toxic. obviously the more toxic sometimes is better for longevity but I think it was Picasso or Van Gogh that used this. Wal-nut oil M. Graham 32-Ounce Walnut Oil Medium
Walnut oil is all natural If you are thinking oils are less toxic beware of linseed oil it is in your paints but if you use it as a thinner it is very easy to burn your house down. All it takes is one time getting it on you and wiping your hand on a cloth that piece of cloth can catch fire and burn your house down.
M. Graham 8-Ounce Walnut Oil Medium
Certain pigments are always going to be more toxic than others such as yellow from cadmium Just be knowledgeable
What if you mess up and you have a ton of ruined canvases well you will need some sand paper
Sand Paper

If you can buy in bulk it may save you 20 trips to the store because if you are working on a face and you mess up then you use the really harsh grit which is like 60-80 can really mess up a painting. But if have some smaller grit it is great to smooth it out with this.120 To 3000 Assorted Grit Sandpaper for Wood Furniture Finishing, Metal Sanding and Automotive Polishing, Dry or Wet Sanding, 9 x 3.6 Inch, 36-Sheet
ok to use it first as long as its not just one layer of paint. The medium grit is great but don't forget to be safe get a fan and get a mask Yamde 50 Pcs Disposable Earloop Face Masks Germ Dust Protection Four Layer Activated Carbon Filter Face Masks and go outside to sand sometimes when its cold I will do it in the kitchen but that is really not a good idea if you have to be sure to set up on the floor instead of close to your appliances like the toaster lol you dont want that paint getting on something that you may eat off of. I really recommend just going out side if you have to sand anything unless it is just a tiny place and then maybe you could do it int he bath room.
Just incase you dont know me I dream of living in this Monolithic Dome home (or at least having a dome home galleria/ studio )
Fire resistant, hurricane resistant and you should too

Dome Living : A Creative Guide For Planning Your Monolithic Dream Home Last But not least Before you varnish sign your work but don't use a brush use a paint pen, Nothing peevs me more than not knowing if after I am dead I will get credit for my works.It is very hard to sign with a brush ! I put my finger print on my art somewhere remember this could effect the color of your painting (especially if you paint oil on canvas) so be sure to do this somewhere that your oils from your skin wont ruin the painting like on the back. I used to get sooo upset when I had paint on my fingers and got it on the back canvas. I would actually sand it off or paint over it . But now I do it on purpose! Ba hahaha
when you paint faces you really dont want all the brush strokes you want the person to exude realism you want to capture them as themselves. I have been tempted to use mu finger to do this and it can really make the skin color come out way darker if your oils get in that paint. So either use gloves or use this makeup applicator. Eastrin Makeup Sponges, Beauty Makeup Blender Blending Cosmetic Make up Sponges Buds Egg Shaped Set for Concealer Contouring Powder
For an extra proof of purchase do the finger print and the signing !!! Because I may never be famous until I die but I want my work to be known~! So use a good pen and sign it make sure it is acid free ! 120 To 3000 Assorted Grit Sandpaper for Wood Furniture Finishing, Metal Sanding and Automotive Polishing, Dry or Wet Sanding, 9 x 3.6 Inch, 36-Sheet
Rookey Mistakes
I once did and acrylic pour in the bathroom because even though people will tell you acrylic is less toxic when you are trying to create cells
Here is a you tube video to show you what I am talking about ...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay50Qk0VbVg This person used Floetrol Hmmm so I will check that out too!! This is for really big cells Lovin this look
Flood Floetrol Latex Paint Additive Plastic Clear
First in your acrylic pours you mix
Mix
click here to order bulk mixing sticks
..... .. Pacon Jumbo Natural Craft Sticks,100 pieces per pack
mix and mix more
It takes like an hour if you use a lot of colors.(so get your friend , hubby or neighbor to help you) You can use flotrol or silicone or Modge podge, or just liquid pouring medium to make cells.
Here is a link to Liquitex silicone. Liquitex Professional Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder Effects Medium, 4-oz
Then you will put the paint down on the canvas, table or whatever you are doing make sure you have a level to make sure that your surface is level . COLORE VIBRANT LIFE Acrylic Paint Set of 48 (22ML Tubes) with VibrancePro Rich Pigment Technology In the video I saw online theat really seemed to do good cells they used the Basics brand paint so ...(the link above)
Be sure to get a spray bottle (less is more sometimes) Be soo careful not to kill yourself with fumes and not to ruin the painting by not exercizing PATIENCE!!!

I just can not express this enough get your meanest friend to come over and drag you away from the canvas because you will be temped to keep messing with it and that will not serve you well.
Go light and spritz it that combo gave me a BAD migraine and it was in my wide open kitchen that has no door I could not just close the door and so we literally stayed outside or in our bedrooms while it aired out for several hours. Mississippi is so hot you can not just open the door for a very long time to let in the air. So if you have to it will take some time to cool off again.

So with this in mind be sure to either have really nice day out and no rain or a garage or shed you can do this in. I actually have a shed or 3 just did not have it clean YOU CAN NOT DO AN ACRYLIC POUR in a nasty dusty shed !!! Because you dont want all those thousands of dust and grime getting on your painting. If it happends actually sometimes it does your painting may come out looking gritty Like that one time I did my pour while

I was drinking a Margarita and then got a little bit glitter happy it was still beautiful and sooo whimsical but it just wasent shiney and liquid looking and it completely killed my attempt to make this acrylic pour NO GLITTER !! But if you do and I know if you are an artist you may be tempted you can then sand it down and yes pour varnish or resin over it for that shiney loook WHOOT WHOOT

Dont forget to take lots of time to dry before the varnish is put on for oil it can take up to 6 months to dry if you used walnut oil to paint. Just google it and find out the drying time for the materials if rush it you can set it in a hot car or blow dry it but I do not recommend it because it can crack and that would put you completely back to step one. I used too much alchol and it most definately did crack and the glitter did not help any!

Liquitex Professional Satin Varnish, 8-oz
If you have any questions or comments please share.

How to sell your art online.

Today we will be covering POD Print on Demand. Hello my name is Stacey and 2017 is the year I have decided to quit my job and stay home and inculcate my web design knowledge and art to make money from home. I am a full time care taker but it is from home. We have super slow internet an that puts most jobs I would have worked previously not even an option. I took a few free classes and a webinar with Pinterest about marketing and entrepreneurship. User interface and User experience designs. (aka UI/UX design classes) These really helped me realize it is about your audience. Who is your audience and how do you reach them.
..... https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx
Audience is Key

Don't forget that if you are an artist there are plenty of ways to get your art out there. There is pinterest, reddit, blogger other social media. Stumble upon, Dribble and some people even get gigs from their LinkedIn act. Instagram is the best for art to find people that are artists to really get inspired and to inspire others. But they do not allow you to share links directly to your art that is for sale.Well you can post the link but its not like on other social media sites where you can easily post it to deviantart and then just hit share. When it populates on Pinterest or Facebook then you can easily see that when you clicl on the image it takes them back to your POD page. I hate it because that is my main audience, but facebook is so jam packed with advertisements it kind of irritates me too so I try not to do it to others. If they choose to like my page that is spicifically for my art then that would be fine.
Pay attention to your stats!
What ever you see doing well do more of that...........So I made a separate page from my personal page on fb where I see that 50-75 people view my art but do not click on it or share it hardly ever. It is kind of disheartening. Don't let it be discouraging because you know that it is getting views and that is a plus. My art I do not make for the demographic that I live in. I was not raised in the south and so my art is not that southern but I do make commissions for people who are interested. In the mean time I use Pinterest to reach my audience of people who are more like me. It has been my saving grace!!! I post for 20 min in the morn at the peak times for the things that are trending. When people are online and my numbers go up. At night I post my art. It is imperative that if you want to make sales you post first on the Print on demand site (deviantart or zazzle is my fav. or redbubble great quality from redbubble then share to your pinterest boards....................)

How do you get your stats?
Nothing will encourage you like seeing those number go up and up and up every single day!
If you sign up for the business acct and post things that you love and things that are current people will search for these things and may also notice your art. This is how I have started to make sales. Then you can look at the stats and see what does best for you its planters and zombies YAY for me. Because I love both. My number one board was hanging planters. Which I love and have been making with my Mom since I was a kid. But at this time of year it brought numbers to my page(25k) Post what is really trending. and Post what you are passionate about. Deviantart has stats and so does zazzle. You can also use statcounter. Analytics is fun but a pain in the but.



Here is the steps it really takes to get going.
1 Draw or Digitally render high resolution prints. (Quality is sooo important do the research for each site and their print requirements.)
2 Then edit them to make them really pretty and shiny or eye catching and put your LOGO on it! (even if you have not made it legal just make sure you copyright it.) By Law the Judge will ususally side with you if you either put your logo on it or use the © just go ahead and copy it right NOW!!! Put it on all of your posts you can even change the code in your image and add the copyright code into the image its self. Even if you have not done a trademark you can still protect your work. There is no guarantee that the courts will allow this but if someone steels your art and makes millions you can not do anything if you can not prove it is yours!!!
3 Then post to a sales site first before SOCIAL MEDIA.
(these I recommend from experience) Amazon Merch
zazzle (add more % or you will be sad when you make a lot of sales and only get 1$ each :0)
redbubble
society 6
deviantart.com
These are my favorite but here is a massive list you can check out. If you are an artist posting your art to these sites before you have it copyrighted you really need to read that fine print on each and every site you sign up for BECAUSE you may loose the rights to your work. FOR EXAMPLE ; Deviantart does allow you to post your art and you will not lose the rights but if you delete your acct and something sells they are not going to be paying you ......SO think twice before posting and think twice before deleting your acct as well. Most importantly you dont want to take a crappy photo that is low low quality but super cool and post it all over because it it sells a ton and everyone is upset because of the print quality they may want their money back and if like zazzle and most companies they have a clause in the terms of service that says they are not NOT LIABLE of course they are always going to say this. So always make sure your images are top quality. This is the main reason I use deviantart because they have really high standards for quality I post first there and then if it will not let me make large prints then I know that it will have a poor print quality.. I think Zazzle really needs to impliment some print quality standards. I ususally just use the template that is available through amaxon merch it is like 4500 X 5400 and 300dpi (ppi)and this will cover most products and look pretty good. Some people will try to tell you that the ppi and DPI do not matter and that it will come out the same but that is just not tre 100% of the time the larger the image the less pixels will print.... For Cameras there are PPI charts you can look up. As I make accounts for these and use them I will update my blog but it is a long and tedious process to read every single bit of the terms of service to make sure I am not selling my soul in the process. ROFL Shopify costs some money but I hear it well worth the cost.
Cafe Press has good pricing but I have not used it
threadless
designs by humans
inktale.com

Imagekind.com (I have an acct here but I dont use it )
Aliexpress
Sunfrog
teespring

Artbeatstudios. (these poeple have some really good equiptment and they say they can print extremely high quality from low res photos. ) I sent them all my info and have yet to hear back from them :(
Society 6 I have an acct with the but do not post to it because they have some crappy print quality on a lot of their reviews online. It costs three dollars to get started and I am too frugal to give them money with the amount of bad reviews they have.
Fineartamerica I have an acct with them and I have not done the necissary amount of research to really post a lot of work there. Before I post to a site I go to you tube and watch the unboxing of product if they can not do a good job I do not post work to them .
customink ???
absolutearts.com
Here are a few more I am super excited to check out
BUT HAVE NOT HAD THE TIME
art.com
saatchiart.com
Crated
Artstorefronts
zenfolio
smugmug
Printful
Nuvango
gaerbubble
I am working on a document that has lines up all the different costs and percentages of money you make as well as reviews and all that good stuff. Zazzle is MOST DEFINITELY the funnest one to work with. they have cute fonts so you can just make images and then you can overlay the font from the web site.They have built in filters that are super pretty. Zazzle's on the actual PC is great but if you go and download the app I can make no promises I have had no luck with the app. I used to use it to upload images but now I cant even get it to do that but for one product at a time, but they have made it so that if you upload it to one shirt it is available for purchase on 153 shirts that your customer can choose from.. IF YOU set your settings to that feature that automatically populates to new products. The best thing for me is fractals I love to use fractals and kaleidoscopes! then overlay some text on a shirt. If you want to look me up just google liquidartz. For example here is one I uploaded from the zazzle app. (make sure it says made by you and not someone else.......)

Floridan Fractal Leggings
by Liquidartz

Floridan Fractal T-shirt
by Liquidartz

Usually if you upload to the app later if you are on the web site you can go in where you uploaded designs are and you can add the additional products with that picture that you used. Now you can not You lieterally have to plug your phone into your computer lol like we did ten years ago lol.upload all 2 million of your photos lol and then upload it to your zazzle......... Once you have decided on one of these then you upload your designs............. 4) SHARE SHARE SHARE a) Share it to facebook , pinterest, reddit b) add a stat counter on your sites that have sales so you can watch the stats go up. c) I like to make deviations of my original work and then edit it in a kaleidoscope and post to instagram. 5) Make a you tube video about what sells and what does not sell ! I have not got this far yet but my internet is sooo tremendously slow I just will have to go live and that is sooo freaking scare y. So I blog instead Love you all and I hope that everyone gets their cake and eats it too! (diabetics sorry I love you too) As a raging workaholic nothing is ever good enough for me! I am always pushing myself to be better. (sometimes you have to tell your sister, brother, Mother or lover to just take your art away from you when it looks good.) Otherwise you will end up like me an art hoarder that will never let go of anything until someone actually comes and snatches out of my cold dead hands. You wont get anywhere without the drive. I have started making art a repetitious task daily grind. Help others and collaborate they will help you back!!! If you find a design that is soo cute dont forget to add a little bit extra on the royalties. MAN I sold one of these and only made 1.50 you think I would be happy but you have to remember on zazzle if you don't make 30.00 you wont get paid UGH

Black and white stripes leggings
by Liquidartz

Affiliate Links
What if you are not artistically inclined but you are in the same boat. Maybe your a stay at home Mom or a single parent that just really needs some extra income but you just don't have the time to create any art.
Well that is where Affiliate links come in.......
see my other blogs. So amazon and many other sites have affiliate links all you have to do is sign up for the program and then do some research. If you have had your social media open for a long time and you have a lot of followers it can be pretty easy to make sales just find something that is necessary or coveted. Like this time of year in the south where I live if I were to try to sell some affiliate products I would sell humidifier, heaters, guns and hunting or camping gear. There were so many products that I recommended for hurricane preparedness I made a blog and added affiliate links to all kinds of self sufficient products. Mainly because I had a lot of people I love and just really good friends that had to survive through hurricanes this year... Surviving a hurricane is pretty easy as long as the power stays on and the roof stays in place.
Click Bait or Pay per click
Another thing you can do is if you are like me and you have time to spend researching you can write and awesome blog and set up links for pay per click sites. But this I have not tried because I am not sure which ones are good and which ones cause viruses. This blog is perfect for pay per click it is much much longer than I anticipated and people keep asking me questions and I add a little more to it. SO I probably should set up some pay per click and each time a person clicks you get a tiny bit $ but the more important your info or the more trendy then the more money you will make. Ok so any other questions just send me a message and I will update the blog. Good luck, Hustle Hustle Hustle

Epilepsy and Dreams / Memories

Every now and then I forget my meds I usually can't go to sleep without them but on most days I have to get back up and take them but somedays I I extra tired and I am able but my dreams are so distrubing that they wake me up. Last night I had a dream about an old friend that gave me a pair of pants and him and his brother were quite the pranksters and ususally hung out with a gang full of pranksters. One day they gave me a pair of pants I took them home and was about to try them on and a huge spider tranchula size spider cralled out of the pants and I murdered it to death Last night withou my meds I was at their house and there were blue glowing spiders crawling out of the vents everywhere. Who know what terriable thoughts and memories my mind may conjer when I finally get brave enough to come off the meds.

Epilepsy Advocate

What do you do to helps
prevents your seizures the best?

I am sending out good
vibes to all my friends !
I have many good
friends that suffer from
epilepsy. Some have had it
all their lives and others just
recently started having
seizures in their mid
thirties.
Epilepsy can be
triggered by so many
different things.
Each one of us struggle,
but as we
go though life and
the experiences we have
are so detrimental to our
emotional state we all need support.
Therefore I am opening
this forum for my
friends and family
that have suffered
loss, divorce, work
related stress and addiction.
Medication is the hardest part
of being epileptic and I
am trying to ween myself off
but it is going on 10 months
now I have been taking only
1 epitol (Tegretol) at night knowing that
the stress levels in my life
are sooo through the roof I should
take more. But the side effects are crazy.
I am sending this to all
my epileptic friends and
Posing this Question;



I have recently started
to feel the pain that possiably
has been caused by years of
Physical trauma during seizures..........
I will start by answering it myself.


1) Ever since the Bush administration
I have completely stopped watching
the news most of the
news only makes me
worried , scared , stressed
and on edge. I scroll thought
the local news channel on the
internet and watch weather
underground app for my up to
date forecast. I do this because
watching the news can literally
change my entire day and
on my facebook feed I oftin
times delete the feeds of people
who continue to post negative
news and that does not matter
if I agree or disagree. It is to
stabilize my attitude and focus.
I am not going to have a productive
day if I am thinking about
being bombed or catching Bird
flu I am probably not going
to move away or out of the
country if the president is
starting wars so I just do not
listen to it. I tell myself
not to buy into fear mongering
and that is all I can do.
(I may be lying to myself that
is the price I pay for sanity.)
Now I realize this is not
possible for most people have
children. I literally cut my
Cable off and I choose to watch
tv over the internet so that there
is not any shows randomly coming
on tv that I am forced to watch
just because it is late and
I am going to watch it because
it is on.


2) I have 2 social media channels
that I use. Facebook and Instagram.
On my facebook I have friends and
family who typically post bitching
sprees all day long from every corner
of the nation some people I listen to
their negative feed no matter what because
I love them and I am concerned
for them but most of the time if
they spew negativity I just unfollow
them on facebook. On instagram I
have mostly only positive people
only artists that inspire me and
only businesses that thrive and
encourage me to do the same.
I like positive pages only .
Because I need this on a regular basis!


3) There is one thing I
have to partake in that is
somewhat negative and
it is for my own self awareness.
there is a lot of self
help gurus that I watch
and subscribe to on youtube. Even if you are not with a Narcisist,
...these videos can help you avoid being
a narcisist or being taken advantage of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1FowjPUQ1s ........ Narcissist support groups
I used to avoid watching them because

watching these types of videos
can set off a negative tone
for people in your house
around you but My hunny used
to feel like I watched
these because of him.
But he is one of the least
narcissistic people I know.
I also have changed a lot
too now that I know I
can become quite
narcissistic and that
is not good for you or
the people you are around.
When you are epileptic a
certain amount of self preservation
is mandatory to survive.

4)I occupy my time !!!
Make a schedule if you
are unemployed and or
feeling depressed do not
stay in one spot and allow
yourself to fall into a pit
of dispair. Schedule your day
8 breakfast
9 clean
10 yoga
11 meditation
12 lunch
1 clean
2 garden
3 post t shirts for sale
(residual income is the best use of time)
4 art
5 dinner
6 tv
7 dishes
8 miscellaneous lol
9 bed


5)I suggest if you are
epileptic and not working
that if you have repetitious
seizures that always
come at the same time
each day to take that
time of day to meditate,
Or at least NOT STRESS !!!
I have seizures at 6am
but that is not going
to happen lol at
6am I am sleeping
If you do have seizures
while sleeping be sure
to make sure your
alarm clock is not causing
your seizures.I really think
I used to have an alarm clock
that caused my seizures
maybe that particular
frequency caused it or
the fact that it did
not wake me up it caused
me to have a dream that
I was in a huge laundry
mat with thousands
of dryers and they
were all going off and
I could not find
the one dryer to
actually turn it off.
WOW that is crazy
this one that Mom
bought me kept getting
louder and louder until I
would finally wake up.


6)Keep a diary
if you are having
a lot of seizures really
think about the things
you eat and how they
can upset your stomach
or your hormones. I do
think that my seizures
are definitely caused by
excess of hormones in
particular estrogen or too
much serotonin. Not
enough melatonin. Not
enough magnesium or high
levels of heavy metals
in the food you eat.
Many woman including myself
do not stick to moderation
......................
Coke and Milk have an
excess of estrogen.
Like eating a lot of
cereal it will help me to
loose weight but at what
cost have you ever
dragged a magnet
under a bowl of cereal
there is an excess of
aluminum and heavy metals
which since I started
paying attention to what
foods have heavy metals
I have been seizure
free for 9 years
(also somewhat heavier lol)


7)Most importantly EAT!
you need energy to keep
going and if your body
does not have it you could
have dire consequences.
I have sent this link
to only my best friends
that I trust and I
am asking you .........
... this is a call to action
PLEASE RESPOND
It could save a life !

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Moms Birthday !
Happy Birthday Mom !!!
well I cried and cried again
I think I am ok but my
heart is heavy with a pain
a Void Nothingness that
just cant be filled
Just need my Bear Hug from Mama !!
SOO BAD
Well I got a few today
But it still did not
fill the void.

Miss you Mom (Cheryl Butler Watson)
All the times that we spent
together and having fun and
when you past all
I could remember
was how mad you used
to get.
Take the time to make
Memories!



It is weird how
the memories flood of bad
times. I know we had
lots of good times and
lots of celebrations.
When the family came down
we would have to rename
holidays 3 days
before the holiday
We started to Celebrate
Holloween eve ,
We started celebrating Christmas on
Christmas Eve Eve....




We would drink pumpkin spice
and eggnog and watch
Christmas movies.
Murder mysteries were
our favorite.


My sisters
and I could hardly
live under the same roof
without fighting but we
learned to have fun
together and not be
at each others throats
every second.

I miss
the days when I could go
antiquing with Mom we
would drive down to
Hurley MS and head on
over to Mobile.


If you have
never taken the time
to go on an adventure
with your parents




(there kind of fun) make sure
you do. I would help
her pic out blue china
and blue bottles and
any kind of material we
could make into pillows.
One time I went to
NOLA with my Mom and
we only went out to eat and
straight to bed.
If only I had
known this would be
it the only time I
would ever get I would have
made more of it.


Mom collected miniatures and
she was always
looking for those shelves
that are to small to
fit anything but a thimble.
I had thrown out so
many of those over the years
thinking what in the
world would I fit on this
shelving Lol.


Be sure to LOVE

People like to be haters
like to tell you all
the bad times they remember.
Some people never
can get over the
hurt heart syndrome.

Others are jealous of
the strength of love.
People say things that
can destroy what
sanity that we may
be holing onto. Don't let
sad people,who never
had what you once had
kill your happiness.
It is hard enough to remember
the good times when
you are mourning.
#depression.
That does not really accentuate
the positive. You have to
push those negative thoughts
way back to the back burner.
No just knock it off the
stove. Let them go anyone
who destroys your happiness;
says things that are
never going to help you.
THE ONES THAT ONLY HURT YOU
forget about them.
You don't need them.
You really don't need their approval.

On another note Change.
Wow... change is hard!


We are set in our ways.
Like concrete boots
that will hold us there to the
grave...If you do toxic things
but you think it does not effect
who you are, well your wrong.

The first step in change is
realization Stop denying that
you have a problem. My problem is
I like to tell people things they
do not want to hear. So I apologize
in advance..........
Life is sooo
short and no matter
what bible you
read or what you
choose not to
believe we don't know
just exactly what
happens when we die
We don't know.
You can tell your self you
do all you want but many
people read the
same book and
believe something totally
different. What it
comes down to is
Do you forgive and
forget and become
bound to repeat.
Or do you ban, close the
door, bolt it shut
and never look back.
If they did it to you ??
WHY NOT?
If I had a penny for
every time my heart
was shattered by
friends and fam I would
be a millionaire.
There are a certain
amount of times I
can take the pain and
then no more.

You can not continue
to water the garden
even when it rains.
In other words your
positive actions of

forgiveness may
leave you feeling like
your stuck in the
mud.



Just because my
heart bleeds
for my dear friends
and family that
have burned me; does
not mean that they
feel any of that
pain that I am feeling.
Nor will they even
notice if you don't
text or call. Then
if you choose to
open that door
again and call them
text them 17
times till they finally
have a chance
to get back with you
they wont'
even hesitate
to obliterate
your soul
another day.

Who knows why they
treat you badly



but I have waded
through the mud to
water my garden
so to speak and
these people usually
chose to believe lies or tell
themselves lies
that play into their
insecurities.




If Mom were here she would tell
me to not stoop down to that level.
Never treat someone they way they
treated you then you are no better
than them.
Oddly, Mom she would have told my sis
something totally different.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY


So here are a few words of advice from
beyond the grave.
Mom used to tell me soo many times.

NO PITY PARTY



GET OFF THE PITY TRAIN


NO EXCUSES



DON'T BE A DOORMAT



Happiness is a Choice


Well I am tired of caring so much!
The ball is in your court.



Wow
I guess not having Mom there
does make things harder than normal

The real survival guide for hurricane Preparedness.

Disclaimer I am an Amazon Affiliate and I have posted some links to products I wish I had invested in Pre-Hurricane Katrina
.... Oh I hate this time of year!Hurricane Season.

This is not the story of someone who stayed behind during Hurricane Katrina. I was a total scaredy cat but I lived so close to the coast only 3 blocks when hurricane Katrina hit. Although it hit Waveland Mississippi at the eye of the storm. I was living not to far away.........
.... Yes my nephew dropped some syrup on my keyboard so just deal ok..................... I know most of you probably thought the eye of the storm hit New Orleans because they had such a bad time. New Orleans is actually 2 hours from the eye of the storm and I lived in Gulfport Mississippi. Waveland is about 20 min from Gulfport.
In reading about hurricane Harvey I saw this. " where an official had warned those who opted to stick out the storm to write their Social Security numbers on their arms for body identification. " I was at work at the local Hotel we had people calling in from every direction trying to make reservations. The worst thing about a hurricane is you have no idea what is going to do. So my boss said no reservations because they did not want people making reservations and then canceling them or forgetting to cancel as the storm changed directions. I was telling people that they needed to go north but if it is projected straight for us they dont really want to evacuate to the north.
Most people evacuating don't have time to really prep but as long as the electricity is on its best to make ice and dehydrate foods so you will have something cold to drink and something sustainable to eat...........

Here is a solar dehydrator that is great for camping or more serous prepping.\No you dont have to be a doomsdayer to prep. My step Mom loved to dehydrate bannanas ans My mothers favorite past time was to make beef jerky so back in New Mexico we did this alot I am not too sure how well this would work in southen MS I mean it is hot but the humidity is so high just not to sure it would dry out.


Hurricane Prep Kit
.... If you live in high humidity you may have to use this

Although it is not too great if the power is already out I can give you an option for saving your meat rather than letting it spoil in your deep freezer because the smell of a an entire deep freezer that has gone bad is no bueno!!!.... And cleaning it out takes a certain kind of gas mask Lol



What the Hurricane preparedness guides wont tell you. If you decided to run for it LORD please don't wait till the storm is upon you. There is a good chance you and your vehicle will not make it to safety and it really does not take that much rain to really mess up your car. Also the Gas stations really get Gouge happy, Hiking all the prices to 3-4 bucks a gallon and often times run out of gas.

I am completely serious when I say fear is one of those things that does not hit people until it is upon them then there really is not a lot you can do once the storm is upon you. Why should you go Hurricane winds probably wont blow your house away but a tornado might and you can not flee if your car if flooded in.

I literally Pawned everything I had computer laptop and speakers monitor. It only got me 300 bucks then I had to cry , beg, plee to get my Mother to leave too. Well, she was pretty upset that she evacuated and that the house was still there when she got back.I thought that was funny she was mad about it.

If you still live in NOLA you prob need to invest in one of theses Kayak's just in-case !!

When we finally made it to my aunts I called my Grandma and told her happy Birthday because it was her birthday on Aug 28 2005. We got a pretty rough sleep on the floor but it was better than in the hurricane torn home back in Gulfport. There was a 30 foot surge and that means that the water rose 30 feet over the normal seal level about just over the first story of the hotel I was working at at the time the walls in that hotel were built to collapse easy so as not to allow the whole structure to come down with the walls.

You should have seen the looks on my sisters faces after Hurricane Katrina Christmas Gifts and birthday presents I guess I had a smidge of PTSD because I got them emergency car kits lol with all the first aid needs you could think of.
....
Oddly I did not catch too much flack but they were pretty expensive and no one really has any left after that hurricane season was over.
We spent a lot of time sitting in the car charging up the phone and listening to music and news. Fat Cat Preparedness kit has chargers flashlight and all the techie goodness you will need to be all prepped!

The news would not say a dam thing about the conditions in my home town because New Orleans looked sooo bad..................
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/us/hurricane-katrina-statistics-fast-facts/index.html of our home town because of the levy's breaking in NOLA and all of the horrendous things that went on during and before Katrina. The police came in and took everyone's weapons to ensure the safety of the people left unfortunately that just left the elderly and those that could not outrun the police defenseless to the ones that could and did hide better.

When we came back we stayed at my Mom house for 2 almost 3 days before the power was restored while it was still overcast it was not that bad but once the sun came out it was sooo hot and oddly I still wanted my coffee in the morning. We used the old school boil and pour it over a filter method with one of those old school coffee makers from the 50's we were lucky to have propane at Moms. But if you dont you may want to get one of these.

As soon as the storm is over you will probably taking pictures of the damage and moving limbs while you are out there you can forrage for foods of the natural variety.


Once you dry them you can grind them up and add them to your personal apothecary

It is better to be safe then sorry if you are in a rural area you will need this to keep the snakes and other rodents back while you are clearing a path out to the shed and back yard you may notice all your trees are leaning heavy in one direction the storm winds can really do a dooesy on your plant life. Here is my fav tool for tall brush and scarey areas. Well if your in the city you may need it for other reasons like pesky vandals but dont bring a knife to a gun fight lol


My Mom (RIP) lived right across the street from the fire department so we went to the fire dept to get MRE's and anything they had to offer because unlike this scaredy cat all the rest of the family stayed and we had no idea if they were ok or not. This was my first time to try and MRE and it had some kind of activated charcoal in it that automatically heated itself up lol so even thought there was no electricity and all our food was gone we got some hot meals.........


It was nothing but vandals run a muck when I got back Gulfport to my house the one closet that was in the center of the house I decided was the best place to put everything of importance that I could not fit in the car like the vacuum and all my school books purses and coats Unfortunately when that wind and rain and 30 foot surge came down on the top of the house my painting that were WIP and everything old love letters , pen pal letters were all destroyed. Well that is not completely true ..... My ass hole land lord took it upon his self to go ahead and come on in and start throwing out my things. All my high school letters and pen pal letters were gone I dont know if he just threw them out or if he saved them for a rainy day.Well that's ok what some people consider trash is other peoples treasure and family air looms.

Camille was pretty serious people had no way of knowing just how bad it would be back in the day SO sometimes the storm would come in and it was a lot worse than it had anticipated.

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/hurricane-camille/

...


("Katrina - Waveland, Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina came roaring towards the Mississippi Gulf Coast on the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, bringing devastating 120 mph winds, a nearly 30-foot storm surge and 55-foot sea waves.") https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/hurricane-katrina-ten-year-anniversary-mississippi/ reference for photo and quote


All of the furniture was ruined and not just ours but all of our neighbors had all of their furniture out by the road to be dragged away and it took us a week to get back to our home. Even then they said we could not go and well we could not wait any longer even after waiting 2 days the day the storm hit and the day after when we got back there was not electricity on so we waited and we all sat on the porch on the porch swing in our bathing suits with fans and trying to stay cool there were all kinds of new bug species that we had never seen before but it had to be 120 inside the house without the AC in southern Mississippi. that got blown in with the storm. All moms candles had melted and my painting that were watercolor had evaporated and just completely melted and sweated away there was only the pencil sketch left.
Months went by and FEMA came though we went back to give the land lord the last bit of rent we owed him and he had given away our broke down car that got water logged at the previous hurricane that we chose not to evacuate for. There in the distance there was my grandmas Orea Cookie jar that she gave me as my first house warming present. She was still alive and he told me he was going to give it to his little cousin and so I let it go. But I sure do miss that now that she is gone. I cry when I see one at someone else's house.





....

What a horrible feeling when you have no job no home and everything you could keep fit in the back of your SUV. Every single store on the way back to our house had been completely destroyed from the wind, rain and vandals took everything. These cute cute Apocalypse tv shows have no idea just how fast shit is gone. Without the government there to step in with help I am sure that the reality is that there is only a few days of food in a city to last and if it is not shipped in then you will be starving if you have not prepared.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/26/us/hurricane-harvey-landfall/index.html Disclaimer I am an Amazon Affiliate and I have posted some links to products I wish I had invested in Pre-Hurricane Katrina