Wordless Wednesday 3

Speaks for itself, doesn't it? 
She was a little excited to ride the carousel.

Have a picture that speaks for itself?  Take a peek and link up for Wordless Wednesday!  Today I'm linking up to:
5 Minutes for Mom
Wordless Wednesday
Mama to 4 Blessings
Mom Caboodle
The Maven

Purple Poppies

Every few months I get together with the Beta girls and we paint.  It's therapeutic, it's cathartic, it's relaxing.  This particular painting is called Purple Poppies and while it's not my favorite painting that I've done, it's still high on the list.  

I started with a blank canvas, then added yellow and white paint in the top left to begin crafting the sun.  After finishing the sun, I started to add red to the yellow to create orange in the sky.  After adding half of the form as orange, I added more red and less yellow to finish out the sunset colors.  

After drying, I began with the black and green stems at varying lengths.  I tried to make sure that there was nothing overly patterned or matchy in an effort to keep the stems more life-like.  I began with the purple poppies and added in a hint of white to lighten les fleurs.

The final creation adorns our living room wall.  I'm happy, but always looking forward to the next creation!

I'm linking up with Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims and Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge and the Weekend Wrapup Party at tatertots & jello today! 

Thought Provoking Thursday

What is one aspect of your life that you never expected to be there?

I NEVER expected to be a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant.

What?  You expected an intense, life-changing answer?

Let's stop for a minute and consider the source.  We are talking about a woman who, prior to becoming a Mary Kay consultant, washed her face with water.  Just water.  And only when she was in the shower.  [Don't I at least get points for knowing that I wasn't supposed to wash my face with soap??]

I didn't wash my face, I didn't use moisturizer (much to Prince Charming's chagrin.  He regularly admonished me for it.), I didn't wear makeup and I surely didn't use supplements.

And then one crazy day, worn down by my mom (who wanted a girls day out), I attended a Mary Kay event.  I was blown away by the way the products made me feel and I knew that I liked them enough to actually take the time to start washing my face and maybe, just maybe, start wearing makeup.  I became a Mary Kay consultant that day.  Craziness, I tell you.

Fast forward fourteen months and I have the clearest, softest skin I've had in 31 years and a fabulous career that I love.  Not only do I love what I do but I get the opportunity to continue to be a stay at home mom to the Monkey while still contributing to our family financially.  In a word? Awesome.

[Shameless plug for my business?  Well, okay.  Since you asked... check out my website here: www.marykay.com/SamZ]

Now it's your turn!  What do you have in your life that you never would have expected?

Amazing Giveaways!

Thanks to Meagan over at Fairly Fabulous, I had a great time at the Ultimate Blog Party '11 and made some new bloggy friends.  One of those new bloggers is Anne at Giveaway Corner [great blog title, huh?].  Her plan for the blog is to do a giveaway every single weekday.  WOW!    She is kicking off her blog with a most awesome giveaway that's going on right now and I know all of my readers will want to enter it.  Like now.
Why is that, you ask?  Because she's giving away a $100 Visa gift card every day from Tuesday, April 12 through Friday, April 15.  [See, you totally want to enter now, don't you?]

There's one more thing.  When you enter the contest using Anne's form (which is so nice because you don't have to enter multiple comments for multiple entries ~ just check the appropriate boxes on the form! love it!), you'll be asked 'Who referred you?.'  The appropriate answer in that box is "Sam Z."  If I have the most referrals at the end of the day on Tuesday, April 19, I will win a $20 Amazon gift card.  If I win the contest, YOU will get to participate in a giveaway right here at The Answers are Simple!  See: it's a win-win!

Let me know if you enter so I can be excited for you when you win!

Meet Me Monday Blog Hop!

Well  lookie (lookey?  look-e?) here  look at me!  I'm participating in the Meet Me Monday Blog Hop!  Head on over to Inspiring You To Save and check out some of the other fab-u-lous bloggers who are linked up as well.  And if you made it here from the blog hop...Thanks!  Show me a little 'follow' love and I'll show it right back!

Happy Monday!