What a weekend!

This cheer season has been a rollercoaster ride!  We were the team that nobody wanted.  The pilot team.  The first 4.2 in the history of our gym.  Many thought our gym wasn't ready.  Many thought we would fail.

Cheerleading is split into different levels.  The levels range from 1 to 6.  As the girls master harder stunts and tumbling, they move up in levels.  Then along came the level 4.2.  I have to say that when we found out that Avery was going to be on a level 4.2, I had no idea what that meant.  I just knew it was a step up from her level 1 last year.  Piggee, Avery's flying coach and best friend, explained to us that a level 4.2 meant that the athletes could compete using level 4 flying stunts, but tumble at a level 2.  We were so excited since Avery had spent the whole summer working on her flying stunts.  She has never been strong at tumbling, so this team was going to give her the chance to show off her new flying skills without having to master the tumbling.
Some people didn't think this was fair.  Why should they be able to do all the fun level 4 stunts without having to work as hard to get the tumbling?  I can see their point, but if the tables had been turned I'm sure they would have felt differently.

From the beginning our team has struggled.  They have struggled big time!  And since 4.2 teams are relatively new, we didn't have much competition, so all of our wins were not as sweet.  People said, "of course they won; they didn't have any competition."  And they were right. 

Throughout the course of this season, we have lost several athletes and have had to replace them with new ones.  Avery even thought about throwing in the towel, but she couldn't leave her teammates in a bind.

Fast forward to this weekend.  NCA: National Cheerleaders Association.  The Superbowl of Cheerleading!  Hundreds of teams from all over the country.  Six 4.2 teams.  We finally had competition!

And...Cobalt....the 4.2 underdog of Prodigy All-Stars won!  I couldn't have been more proud of our girls.  They worked hard and never gave up!  They deserved the jackets they won.  They deserved to bask in the glory of it all!  This team is proof that adversity builds character and hard work creates winners.  And during this whole season, God has taught me so much more.  He has humbled me and shown me that even this....this amazing win is not bigger than He is.  That without Him nothing is possible and that we should not place anything above Him.  And that even if we do lose sight of what is most important, He still blesses us in the midst of our "temporary insanity."

Hailey and Avery

Doodling Unleashed Class

I signed up for the free classes through strathmore here..  The first class is Doodling Unleashed.  I have really been having fun with it.  It's nice to try something new.

I've always enjoyed using bold, bright colors and this workshop really encourages that.  Go check it out!  It's free and free is always better!

Always Love ATC

Here's a sweet little ATC I made with a graphic I got from Graphics Fairy.  This vintage pic of a little girl in a "Heart" costume got me in the Valentine's mood.  I used a quote from one of my favorite songs by Addison Road called....take a wild guess.....you're right... Always Love.

The words are:  Always love.  Hate will get you every time.

Don't forget to show some love to the important people in your life this Valentines.  

Postcard Inspiration

About a month ago, I received this beautiful postcard from a young girl in Belarus.  I had never even heard of her country!  I'm not really sure, but I think they are day lilies?

The vibrant color inspired me to play with my Derwent Inktense pencils.  I had taken a personal day at work and spent half the day sleeping.  The other half I spent drawing one of these beautiful flowers.

I did a practice one and then I drew the "real" one.

Here's the practice drawing:

I experimented with different ways of laying down the color.  Some of these petals I started with coloring the whole petal yellow and then going back over it with the orange.  The others I put the orange down on the page without yellow underneath.  The more vibrant petals are the ones that I started with the whole petal yellow.  I liked that way the best!

Here's my finished piece:

I love the inktense pencils!  They are so easy to work with and give such amazing color.  I am pleased with the end results.

How cool is it that someone from a country that I didn't even know existed gave me such beautiful inspiration?  I love postcrossing!  Thank you Eugenia, in Belarus!

Marry The Night

I love Lady GaGa!  When she first came onto the scene, I tried not to like her.  I couldn't figure out what all the hoopla was about.  Then I actually listened to her songs.  To me, she is a brilliant song writer.  So, when she came into town a few years back I just HAD to go.  My oldest daughter loves her, too, so I took her to the Monster Ball Tour.  We were on the floor, standing room only tickets.  We got there super early and stood mere feet away from the stage.  It was AH-MAY-ZING!  

When I saw that the theme for February at Creative Everyday was night, I immediately thought of GaGa's new song, Marry The Night.  I had originally thought of a picture of a girl with the moon as her solitaire, but somehow once I got started that vision didn't happen.  Maybe in the next piece.  Anyway, here is my interpretation of Marry The Night.

Postcard from Mumbai

When I got home from cheer practice last night, I had a surprise in my mailbox.  It was a postcrossing from Mumbai, India.  I love vintage pictures and graphics.  This one is a picture of a railway station in Bombay, taken 100 years ago!  It traveled 14,470 km and took 9 days to get to my door.  I love postcrossing!