Full sketchbooks, hurricanes and birthdays

These are the last three pages in the sketchbook I was working on. I actually worked all the way to the last page, which is unusual for me. Normally I have at least 20 some blank pages at the end that I never got around to filling. I wonder if anyone else does that. I also always leave the first page blank, like the first few pages of a book. I do that with my journals too. Anyway, on to pictures.......

Kinda morbid, I know, but it turned out nice. I'm usually pleased with the results of my depressed sketches. Plus, I usually feel better afterwords. 

I guess this is the first "self portrait" I've posted. I was playing with a cartoon/caricatured style, which I want to develop some more. I look like I'm twelve or something, but that's actually kind of accurate to how I feel at times. 

And here's one of my husband, Jon. He really does like his swords! :-)

Oh, and remember how I mentioned I was cleaning my studio? Well here's what it looked like before I started.

I really wish I could say it doesn't get this bad very often, but that wouldn't be very truthful. However, after a few days spent almost entirely cleaning the studio, it looked like this....

Tada!!!! Isn't it beautiful. You can see the floor and everything! ^_^ Grant you, it's not quite that clean at the moment, but let's not focus on that part.

In other news, my birthday was yesterday!!! I'm kind of ignoring the fact that I'm a whole year older now than I was before. I guess everyone does that at some point. My husband and I were going to go to the Philadelphia art museum to celebrate, but Hurricane Irene decided to come and visit instead. We ended up camping out at my husband's parent's house where we all had cupcakes and watched "Up," one of my favorite Pixar movies. The storm didn't really hit us too hard, fortunately. It took a few trees down and flooded some areas, but it was nowhere near as bad as some other places (for which I'm very thankful). Jon and I came home Sunday afternoon and finished the day out with our favorite parts of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 (also on my list of best movies ever). It was a pleasant, laid-back birthday, which was fine by me. And what, you might ask, was my favorite present? Volumes 3-9 of the graphic novel series Bone!!!!!!!! They're my favorite graphic novels and I now own the complete set in color!!!! ^_^