my husband is more fashionable than me.

I'm not joking. He is. I don't know when this happened, but it did. He knows what cuffs go with what cuff links and what collars you should wear to which occasions. He has a travel case for his ties. He's been lurking around thrift stores trying to find a navy blue blazer and finally succeeded -- it's now altered and dry-cleaned and while wearing it he looks like Prince Harry. He irons his dress shirts.

I have not yet used our iron.

I don't really know how to use our iron.

But yes, with the combined efforts of training via The Art of Manliness, Neal Caffrey, and an abundance of really excellent thrift stores in this city, Wayne has become a man of style. Now, if only I could find a nice pea coat with sleeves long enough for my arms. You can't get away with 3/4 length sleeves all the time, my friends. I've tried. Although, on the upside, I've really formed quite a strong relationship with my forearms over the years. We know each other well.

Speaking of weird relationships, this is something Wayne said yesterday:

W: "Alright coffee, it's time that you and I locked lips. Some people say I have an inappropriate relationship with coffee... I just say we're friends with benefits."

S: [Confused silence]. 

You've got it -- it's that time of year again, folks! Midterms and all the confused and hazy brain slush that comes with 'em! Turns out not only is Wayne fashionable, he's also really funny when he's sleep deprived.

Well, that's all. No pictures today. Sad face.

show your face, spring!

Oh boy, it's been a winter, that's for sure. But I'm ready for what's going on in that little picture up there. And now that it's officially spring, the snow can stop falling now. Please snow. Please. My little frozen crocus blooms in the garden are crying out for you to stop. I can hear them. 

Anyway. Enjoy today, despite the fact that it's a blizzard out there!

letter writing.

I drew this for a friend who consistently writes me wonderful letters and emails. It only made sense for me to draw a picture of her writing me a letter in some enchanted windowsill somewhere.

Thank you, friend. 

in like a lion.

In like a lion and out like a lamb! Unexpected surprise though -- the old adage has been 50% incorrect so far. I woke up on the 1st of March and stared at the ceiling and thought of lions and lambs and decided to do a quick sketch like this, but it's not entirely accurate for 2013 because yesterday we experienced a full day of blue cloudless skies and snappy sunshine. I think we had about two of those days in February, so this really was rather tremendous. Hopefully the weather doesn't get all ornery and throw us a snowstorm at the end of the month. Then I'd roar like that hairy guy up there.

A confession: I really dislike drawing animals, but I do it because I'm not comfortable with it and I won't like it until I'm comfortable with it which won't happen if I don't practise. They just have so many LEGS. Sigh.

be discerning.

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Blogs are strange things. Throughout my year in blogdom I've been amazed at the vast variety of different blogs out there, ranging in categories from lifestyle to photography to fiercely depressing poetry. I tend to read blogs that lean more towards the faith and Christian life categories (although I do occasionally look at some craft blogs, but promptly get tired and feel sucky at crafts and go back to apologetics). I've found some very interesting and inspiring writers out in my internet travels... and also some pretty bad eggs.

Here's the thing about blogging -- just like facebook, twitter, and any other type of social media outlet, it's possible to make yourself appear exactly like you want to appear, and the majority of the time, your readers will believe exactly what you tell and show them.

As such, writers hold a very weighty amount of power in their keyboard-tapping fingers. Not only can they easily convince readers that their lives are exactly as they appear in the about me section, but their chosen post topics and opinions have a far-reaching influence over every person who comes across their site.

This isn't such a big deal when it comes to photography blogs. You took a great picture, please share it! Your life probably isn't as great as that macro photo of a Starbucks latte makes it seem, but this won't really change how I think about life or how this plays into my walk with Jesus.

It's a different story when it comes to blogs that focus on Christianity. It's easy to draw followers when you've got a slammin' blog template and some CSS savvy. You might even be really good at writing! But what drives me crazy -- and I mean drives me crazy -- is when you take your opinions and your fallacious hermeneutical arguments and you prooftext the God of justice right out of the Bible. I'm aware that I don't have theological training, but I can still tell that something has gone wrong when you turn the mighty and majestic God of the universe into a total sap who sings you Taylor Swift love songs while ignoring your blatant rejection of His Word. And there are hundreds of girls in the most influential stages of their Christian walk reading your blog and drinking all this in and just loving it.

The Bible makes very clear that one of the marks of a fruit-bearing Christian is discernment (see pretty much all of Proverbs). This characteristic is even more important and necessary in a world where opinions and information are available instantly. There have always been people manufacturing their own interpretations of scripture and God and the resurrection and who Jesus is -- the only difference is that the Sadducees didn't have access to Blogger. Twisted truths aren't anything new, so this post isn't directed at bloggers who are rightly exercising their freedom of speech (although I would recommend reading your Bible and getting some facts straight before posting -- don't be an accidental heretic!), but more towards their readers. 

When you read something that doesn't quite sit right with you, try and figure out why. Read your Bible. See what other people are saying on the subject. Don't allow your critical eye to be won over by moody alliteration and pretty photos and social fads. Be discerning.

"Do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgement and discretion" (Proverbs 3:21).

extreme makeover - blogger edition!

No, my hair is not that fabulously wavy, nor is it a warm shade of maple blonde. I don't have a polka-dotted shirt, my eyes aren't nearly that blue, and the face? Doesn't resemble me a bit.

There have to be at least some perks to being right-brained, and if drawing freakishly attractive though completely inaccurate self-portraits is one of them, I'll take it. Let's face it -- we're called starving artists for a reason. Let us at least make ourselves feel better by allowing us to turn ourselves into supermodels.

Yup -- this blog got a good old-fashioned facelift on the weekend. I figured that since I'd stuck around internet-land this long (no one is more surprised than me), I could do my blog the honour of rebranding it. But don't get all excited -- I'll still be posting with the regular irregularity of the past year. The new banner certainly does not mean more posts. All it means is that I had a burst of creativity for a few hours yesterday and actually did something with it instead of thinking about it and then watching the birds outside and then folding laundry and then taking a nap.

Thanks for sticking with me! If you're lucky next time I might do something crazy and change the font. Or figure out how to make these dang posts stay centred. Bah.