Sally Lynn MacDonald

Palettini | Stir the Imagination. Shake Up Your Style.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Online Classes
    • My Account
    • My Online Workshops
    • Technique Hump
      • Free Video Tutorials
  • Events
    • In-Person Teaching Events
      • Project Workshops by Sally Lynn MacDonald
    • Stamp and Scrapbook Convention
  • Printables
  • Organization
  • Shop
    • Palettini Artwork Gallery
You are here: Home / Life - the good stuff / Next Year…

Next Year…

December 19, 2010 by admin 7 Comments

The tree is lit.  The house is decorated.  The cards are sent.  The presents are in different stages of 'wrapapalooza' and I'm waiting on just two last items to arrive on my doorstep, on Monday no less.  We made Christmas candy and decorated some cookies over at a friends' house today.  Honestly I cannot remember a more relaxed Christmas in recent memory.  Wow, that is nice.  Perhaps that is why I felt relaxed and started sifting through my Christmas memories tonight. 

One of my earliest Christmas memories is of waiting, with my brother and sisters.  Waiting, waiting, waiting… for Mom and Dad on Christmas morning to get that 'all clear' that Santa had indeed arrived and the morning of amazing happiness would begin!

119web

Looking at this picture, I so 'get' my kids and that feeling of a-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n. 
119web 
My childhood Christmas memories range from scattered memories of amazing corporate Christmas parties where the entire family would attend at my Dad's workplace.  IBM in the 1970s was a different place than it is now, certainly.  All of the memories are warm and happy and downright Hallmark-like, if you ignore this rather 'bowl' hair cut.  (MOM!).

406web 
And then I started thinking about how things have changed since I grew up and moved out of my parents' house.   I realized tonight that Neil and I are going be spending our 24th Christmas together this year.  Hard to believe it!

The first years were always spent back 'home' visiting my parents house or his – and still getting together with our siblings.

165web 
And a few years go by, and a few 'short people' are added to the mix…

166web 
And even though things are pretty cool at this point, in the late 80s; with Neil and I living in Florida and learning to scuba dive.  There was that something missing from our lives.  Our own set of short people.  A few years into our marriage and I was starting to really get that *need* to start a family.  The one thing that sprang to mind tonight was how every year at Christmas, I would say to myself, "Next year we'll have a family."  "Next year, we'll have a baby."  "Next year…".  And year after year went by without meeting that goal.  It wouldn't really hit me until the holidays rolled around.  Probably because we would get together with family and see our siblings' kids.  Probably.

Now here's a caveat — this is my personal story, and I know that many couples choose to live 'child free', which is of course their own choice and right.  But that was not the path I had chosen.  It seemed like it was choosing me — and I didn't like that one bit.  So we set about on that long voyage of infertility treatments.  Oh yeah.  Good times.  NOT!

During that time, our Christmas Tree changed so much to reflect that stage of our life.  It used to be that I was all about 'decorating' it – when I use quotation marks, I mean decorating in as much as making the tree look like it came out of a magazine.

IMG_5312web 
And still the mantra, 'Next year…' was repeated as each Christmas came to pass.

We moved to Connecticut.  Both of our corporate careers in full swing.  And I embarked upon heavy-duty IF treatments, injections, needles.  Trips to Yale.  Trips to NYC.  Bad news.  Unexplainations.  No reason why not.  Ugh.  Until…Finally…

There she was… in our arms.  Part of the Christmas Tree.

IMG_5338web 

What an amazing miracle.  You could not have asked for a more perfect baby in all the world.  She was a gift.  I still call her that.  She was born the day after my birthday and it's like getting that gift all over again each time we celebrate our birthdays.  I always remember my best gift evah.

And so our lives, our furniture, our Christmas tree and our own family traditions changed with our new addition.

And then two years came to pass and two more gifts arrived on the scene.

Xmas2001tri 
And now we had our family.  No more 'next year'.  We are in that dream.  Living it.

Our tree reflect all of these family members.  And no longer does it all look 'matchy-matchy'.  It's an amazing hodge-podge of ornaments.

IMG_5342web 
How I love that.

I love that Neil's sister sends us a new ornament every year with all of our names on the characters.  Unpacking them and putting them on the tree is such a treasured time.

IMG_5345web 
Now I can say 'THIS YEAR…'. 

…and I mean that I am looking forward to taking them to the mall to visit Santa's workshop. 

Although I must admit there is one thing I wish I could do at that mall.  You know the food court?  The haven of Moms with their kids, that every sweet lady who it trying to conceive would avoid like the plague, because it makes her heart ache so?  You may not connect with that thought… but I hope you can empathize with it.  I wish I could look into the eyes of someone like the former me and let her know in that instant that I too went through those struggles.  That the answer will come, her personal miracle will happen — and it will seem so right when it does.  That she just has to BELIEVE.

IMG_5344web

And if I could do a smack-down on every person that tells her that she just has to 'relax' — I would.  I really would.  Nuff said.

Hold on, dear lady to those dreams.

So tomorrow I am looking forward to going with the entire crew to the NY Botanical Garden's Holiday Train show and seeing the wonder on their faces and the imaginations fired up.

100_0019web 
And good golly, in less than a week I am looking forward to Christmas morning.  The a-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n on their little faces. 

And I feel blessed beyond any measure.  I am seriously, beyond-goofy-grin-on-my-face and tears-in-my-eyes BLISSED OUT.  Thank God.

So now, when I say, "next year…" it isn't with wistful sadness.  Although I will admit they are growing up too fast for me.  No, "next year" now is about wonderful things to look forward to TOGETHER.

And that's my Christmas story.

CIYH-Cardweb 

Merry Christmas!

Tree_Panorama1 

SL

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
«
»

Filed Under: Life - the good stuff

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

About Sally Lynn MacDonald

Sally Lynn is an Anarchivist® that often mixes her love of creating and teaching art with her high-tech side – blending a love of handmade art with hybrid-digital media in what she playfully calls her ‘studio lab’. Every now and then her large-format printer is subjected to printing on a surface that definitely is not listed in the owners’ manual.

She is a maven for studio organization, using her abilities to use spreadsheets and databases to bring order from chaos. “It’s marvelous when the right and left brain actually work together in the studio!” Read More…

What is Anarchivist® – Tech for Artists!

Support me by shopping my favorites on my Amazon Storefront!









I am a Certified GOLDEN Artist Educator!

I am your Art Supply Authority!

Where I Shop for Mixed-Media Art Supplies!

I am a Silver Brush Educator™!

Palettini Stamps – Designed Exclusively for Technique Junkies

Palettini Artwork Gallery
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Log In

Login With Google

Upcoming Events

  1. Learn to Mix Colors with the Digital Mixer Tool

    April 19 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

View All Events

Cart

Products

  • enQoRe by Mail Workshop and Kit $ 35.00
  • Copic Jewel Case CD Labels PDF file FREE $ 0.00

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Shop from my Amazon Lists Here – Resources

palettini.sallylynnmacdonald

Chief Anarchivist® at Palettini™
@goldenpaints Artist Educator
Art Supplies Sherpa for @sketchbookskool

Lunch & Launch. Evening launches are more spectacu Lunch & Launch. Evening launches are more spectacular, but still very cool! @spacex
#Aureolin Hue is a color I dearly love. It used to #Aureolin Hue is a color I dearly love. It used to be available in @goldenpaints, specifically the OPEN formulation is what I have, but somehow I missed its discontinuation and am left with only a scant bit in a remaining jar of paint. Not yet ready to give it up, I worked on creating a suitable replacement. If you look at the straight up recipe, you can see why it is no longer with us; having Hansa Yellow Light and Hansa Yellow Medium as part of its mixture. Both of those colors have been discontinued due to a downgrade in lightfastness to III (Fair). So then I started thinking... what if I work with the replacement #BenzimidazoloneYellow to start? And here is my subtitute. Benz Yellow Light with just a dashity smidgeon of #TransparentRedIronOxide seems to do the trick and ends up a lot more transparent than my original to my eye. So #modernpigments to the rescue!
#mixitmonday 
#makermonday 
#thecolorcollab
#colortheory
#mixingpaint
#mixingcolors
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artlovers
#artmatters
#fineartist
#palettini
#ilovecolor
#colorcrushcreative
#arttechniques
#passioncolorjoy
#artsupplies
#creativehabit
Getting a few @goldenpaints Heavy Body tube colors Getting a few @goldenpaints Heavy Body tube colors, but really wanting my own inflatable High Flow paint bottle, if I'm being honest. Grabbed Azurite, Graphite Gray and Light Violet @stuart_art_supply
When I needed to unwind during this past year - I When I needed to unwind during this past year - I spent time mixing @goldenpaints and making swatches So much so, I can say that (like many have said about Netflix) - I've reached the end of it. Through preparations for the Zoom trainings I've done on mixing paints, I've literally tried every mix, implemented color combinations I would never have come up with on my own - painted them out, and documented all of it. Now the question is - should I write a book? Does anyone want to see the perfect complementary color mix for Medium Magenta? It makes gorgeous bougainvillea, btw.
.
.
.
#thecolorcollab
#colortheory
#mixingpaint
#mixingcolors
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artlovers
#artmatters
#fineartist
#palettini
#ilovecolor
#colorcrushcreative
#arttechniques
#passioncolorjoy
#artsupplies
#creativehabit
#fullsetsyndrome 
#artisteducator 
#goldenartisteducator
Join @donnadowneyart @creationsbyjsheri and a pres Join @donnadowneyart @creationsbyjsheri and a presentation with @palettini.sallylynnmacdonald (Artist Educator for @goldenpaints) for another discussion with the color collab. We will talk about opaque versus transparent, how to choose, how to mix, and 'glaze' over surprising ways to think about it. We will also talk about simple tips about #mixingcolor that will waste less time and paint. And we will touch back on #complementarycolors and how colors affect each other. And to wrap up we will introduce the newest paint to hit the market - Golden's #SoFlat Matte Acrylics. This FB Live session will conclude with Q&A interactive. Looking forward to seeing you here, online! (#linkinprofile) 
.
.
#thecolorcollab
#colortheory
#mixingpaint
#mixingcolors
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artlovers
#artmatters
#fineartist
#palettini
#ilovecolor
#colorcrushcreative
#arttechniques
#passioncolorjoy
#artsupplies
#creativehabit
#lunchandlearnart 
#lunchandlearn
The next FREE session of #thecolorcollab will be o The next FREE session of #thecolorcollab will be on #FBLive -3/11/2021 at noon EST. #linkinprofile We have so much more mixing madness to talk about and I can't wait for you to join us. Make sure to indicate GOING on the event attached so you get notified when Sally Lynn MacDonald/Palettini by Sally Lynn MacDonald & #donnadowney @donnadowneyart go "Live". This session is going to be PACKED with more information to help you become a better artist and mix color with confidence!
.
.
.
.
#colortheory
#mixingpaint
#mixingcolors
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artlovers
#artmatters
#fineartist
#palettini
#ilovecolor
#colorcrushcreative
#arttechniques
#passioncolorjoy
#artsupplies
#creativehabit
#staycreativeathome
Good night! . #sunset #nofilter #nofilternature # Good night!

.
#sunset
#nofilter
#nofilternature
#florida
On location (my porch). Taking advantage of good w On location (my porch). Taking advantage of good weather to do some sketch studies of our newest additions while the light is good.
.
.
.
#drawwhereyouare
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artistsoninsta
#artlovers
#artmatters
#artsupplies
#creativehabit
#fineartist
#fullsetsyndrome
#drawwithme
#drawing101
#drawingtutorials
#drawingtips
#instasketching
#dailysketching
#palettini
#sketcheveryday
#staycreativeathome
I finished using the @goldenpaints Modern #ColorTh I finished using the @goldenpaints Modern #ColorTheory Mixing set to create all of the mixtures on the included poster. Only the top row are included in the set. The remaining colors are mixed, and tinted 10:1; with those that are intended to emulate tube colors, painted out along the bottom third with their counterparts.

P.S. If you look for this set in the store, make sure to pick up the updated set, which replaces the Hansa Yellows with the new Benzimidazolone Yellows.

Included in the set: Benzimidazolone Yellow Light, Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium, Naphthol Red Light, Quinacridone Magenta, Anthraquinone Blue, Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Titanium White.
.
.
#thecolorcollab
#paintingstudio
#studiolife
#studiolifestyle
#arteducator
#artistsofinstagram
#artlovers
#artmatters
#creativehabit
#fineartist
#palettini
#colorcrushcreative
#arttechniques
#passioncolorjoy
#artsupplies
#ontheeasel
#onmyeasel
#enpleinair
#pleinairpainters
#pleinairartists
#urbansketchers
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Follow Inside Artist's Studios on Pinterest.

Copyright © 2021 · Palettini LLC · Service · Shipping and Returns · Privacy · FTC Disclosure