Lots of Updates

Hey all!

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a while.  I know I've said this before (I'm sure you can find older posts of me saying it!), but I'm really going to make a concerted effort to post more often like I was doing last year. 

I must say, coming back to Blogger, I was overwhelmed!  They changed stuff up on me!  It might take me a while to learn all the new bells and whistles.

Okay, so we'll start with personal updates and then end with professional.

My pregnancy is going very well (knock on wood!).  It was rocky the first 3 and a half months.  My hormones were ALL over the place, my anxiety way up, my nausea constant.  Now I'm in the "just getting bigger phase."

27 weeks (almost 28!)

It's funny... when I look at this picture I don't look that big.  But I feel bigger!

I'm keeping very active and trying to eat healthy.  I don't have any weird pregnancy cravings, although in the very beginning I wanted nothing but Asian/Japanese/spicy foods. 

Steve and I found out in April we are having a BOY!  We've decided to name him Evan Franklin.  This little man is quite the mover in-utero.  I can only imagine how he will be once he is out!

As for the rest of our family, my sister-in-law, Erin, had her baby girl this past March.  Fiona Eloise is a little over 3 months old now and growing so quickly!

Fiona in her jolly jumper!  What a contraption!

My other sister-in-law, Amanda, is currently pregnant with her second child (a girl!) and is due on my birthday this year!  October 23rd is the big day!

Steve and I are doing well.  We are still working on some things around the house, like the nursery...

Still a work in progress.

and making our house "Summer-y"...

I'm so proud of my new hanging baskets!

He is currently working on adding supports to the deck for this...

Hot-tubbing it up!

Yes, we got a hot tub... FOR FREE!  It's a long story, but Steve's youngest brother Jim got the hot tub from one of his customer's this past Spring.  I wasn't too happy about it, but Steve was over the moon.  We plan to add cool water to it for the summer so I can have a pool to soak my pregnant body in! :)

My dogs, Camper and Pilot, are doing well, too!  I couldn't snag a good picture of them today because they are seriously just loafing around the house (too hot for them!).

So, let's move on to the good stuff... my PROFESSIONAL updates! :)

I'm still working at Paws Here Awhile Pet Resort (that is how I keep in shape!), but my mother-in-law and I have added a new twist to the resort's exclusive offerings.  It's called Loving Pet Portraits by Nikki White. 

We created this service for customers and walk-ins who want to have their pet(s) forever memorialized.  I sketch and frame a beautiful picture of him/her/them!  I've had a couple of orders already, and it's been great!  It's a nice way to get my art "out there" and advertised.  Plus, I love sketching animals.  It's a bonus all the way around!

My second business venture involves me and my fabulous acupuncturist, Maureen, at her place of business: Trillium Natural Medicine.  I had given Maureen a painting as a gift last year of the common yoga symbol called Om.  She loved it and placed it in one of her acupuncture rooms.  When she told me that a lot of her clients complimented the painting, I asked her if I could created a display in her front office area of some of my paintings.  To my surprise and delight, she said I could!

My display at Maureen's with my paintings for sale-only $75 each!



So far I haven't sold anything (poo!) but I'm AT LEAST out there, showing my paintings to her customers.  I'm hopeful I'll get a bite soon!

Finally, I'm going to 2 art shows this summer.  A significant drop in how many I attended last year, but oh well.  I think 2 are better than none!  I will be showing at West Reading's Art on the Avenue in Reading, Pennsylvania on June 16th and the Gaithersburg Fine Arts Festival in Gaithersburg, Maryland on June 23rd and 24th.  So, needless to say, I'm going to be busy the next couple of weeks! 

Be sure to check out my website: www.grandirstudio.com for more updates and information!

I think I'll close with this lovely picture of my dog Pilot I took about 5 minutes ago.  She has such a rough life...

Laters!
Nikki