Buried...Alive!!!

Okay, so you have been wondering where I have been and why no blogs. Well shortly before my last blog Betina got rid of her work laptop and got a new desktop at the office so I couldn't use that at the breakfast bar, then a couple days after my last blog my desktop at home decided it really wanted to go to computer heaven and self destructed. That left me high and dry, so I started my search for a computer that would do the few things I need a computer to do, but not be that expensive... I can't spend much on unnecessary stuff like a computer when there is ("come on, will you please use the correct words and stop embarassing me" mom exclaimed) more motorcycles out there to purchase, LOL! I finally got a new little netbook that I call "Mighty-Max" and now I am ready to blog from anywhere.

So what else have I been up to... the usual stuff like working and riding when possible and then a few different things thrown in the mix (I will try and get individual post up covering them). But most of all I have been doing a lot of the feature below. Although I can still where ("where??? I am ashamed of you, next time please use your edumacation" mom said) my motorcycle suit, the handlebars are not the ones I enjoy hanging onto.

Giving Thanks

I arose this morning with the burning desire to go for a ride. A quick check of the ground condition, clear … a glance at the thermometer even though that was not going to matter, hmm 40 degrees… Betina made us a quick breakfast and we decided we would eat around four and that I was going for a Giving Thanks ride and she was going to work on her art projects then we could share what we did around the table later. After we finished our chow and I made a couple phone calls I started to get ready for my ride.

I quick gave thought to my ride… hmm… no ideas other than ride, and one stop on the way home to grab a newspaper. I have been waiting to try out the suit with the liner and since I am not stopping anywhere that I would get out of the suit I just throw on a pair on long johns and the matching top. I get the liner on and then the suit and instantly I am very warm… and comfortable. I then go out to the garage, it was a hard decision but I was going to ride Princess R because she is already filthy and only needs 120 miles more to show an even 16000 when she goes to bed for the winter. However, that little stinker had other plans, I think she felt neglected over the past week because her battery was totally flat… nothing…. Well no time for that now, as I turned around I could see an evil but happy smile coming from my son Dakar, he knew it was his time to shine. In my heart I knew this is what I was suppose to be riding due to the conditions, but he was so shiny and clean and washing bikes when the average temps are 28 degrees is no fun!


I thumb him to life and head out to give Thanks to Mother Nature for all her beauty and power I enjoy all year long. I head out toward some of my favorite wooded twisty roads and cruise along. Occasionally I would come upon some none adventurous family in their spotless Volvo pointing at me like I am nuts... if they only stepped out of their comfort zone and lived… shame, shame… I did come across a bunch of thumbs up out the windows but no other cycles to be seen (I am sure if I was in MA I would of saw that rascal Dave’s bike cruzin the streets). After enjoying some great twisties, I aim for the mighty grand to see if she is flexing her muscles against the banks. After that, I went to see the quiet gentle side of M.N. when she blankets all with a quiet peaceful cover. This is the local ski… I find it so hard to even call it a hill, because it really is just a valley. I stop and get some shots of this too before heading back home to share it all with Betina over our Thanksgiving dinner.


Hope you all had a great enjoyable day!

Falling...

What are the prices like in your area? Here in West Michigan they are coming way down. That is good for me because I recently had to switch from the 70 mpg bike to the guzzler Jeep that only gets 19 mpg. Well I am going to keep it short here this morning, but figured I had to at least get something up here for my fans (you happy Dave? j.k.), and I remembered the golden rule, that a post is worthless with out a photo so here is your shot of the day.

Who Caused This!

Oh $%&^ ! ahh, wait a minute, I can say that word here even though its a very, very evil word. Instantly my mind thinks of what a women in Georgia said to me on my last road trip when I told her I was from Michigan. "Oh you poor soul, I do not know what you northerners did to piss God off that he would make that evil horrible stuff fall from the sky on you". Well lady, some bastard must of did it again, because I woke up this morning to this sight.

Yep, that's right, snow! I grabbed a cup of joe and sat watching the stuff fall from the sky blanketing everything with a white sheet. I then tuned in the weather, and this is going to continue and we could get up to three inches over night tonite. I glance over to Betina and shrug, "I guess I am not going riding today" I state. After the second cup of joe I decide that I should get the summer slicks off the car and put on the winter tires. I get dressed and get the tires and hubcaps out of the basement and into the garage. I tune the radio onto some rock and gather all my tools. Each time I do this I am getting faster and faster, I pretend I am a pit crew worker and rock out the first three tires...then!... should I say anymore... Yes that's when it all went to hell.

When I got to the last rear wheel I couldn't get the socket over the lug nuts. You see, the wonderful Dodge designers had to make these fancy lug nuts that have this very thin metal cover over the entire lug nut, it is very hard to get the correct size socket on them. My guess is the lazy piece of snow at the dealership last time the car was there used the next size socket and spun all these wonderful pieces around so they no longer resemble a nut. I finally pounded on a socket and couldn't budge it, so then I stood with all my weight on the 1/2" drive breaker bar and still nothing. Not only did that piece of snow use the wrong socket, he tightened them so damn tight that there was no way to get them off. To say the least I had loads of sweet words coming from my mouth in the garage. Off to the store to by a different wrench and some creating fun to get the little metal covers off, I finally got the wheel off and and the last winter tire on. I then inflated and checked all the pressures. Few! mission complete. Now Betina should be able to cruise along again this winter with no worries. As you can see from the photo below the stock GoodYears are about shot, looks like I will be watching for a good tire deal between now and spring.

That's the Winter Bridgestone (awesome tire) on the left and the crap stock GoodYear on the right.

Racking up Last Minute sMILES

507 sMILES this week! Considering it is the second week of November and it was quite a wet and cool week I think it is still pretty good that I am hitting the above 500 mark. I currently stand at 22,759 miles. I am pretty confident I will be able to make my 24,000 mile goal by December 31st. This week isn't looking to good but I believe I should be able to get at least another 250 this week and that will give me about 5 weeks to rack up another thousand. I got the Dakar back on Friday so it is ready to take the place of Princess R for the winter. He got some new Head Bearings and had his ticker checked (valve check). The docs couldn't believe what good health he was in and figure he has a long life ahead of him. I will keep you posted over the next five weeks as I inch closer to my goal.

Riding, Sunglasses, and Art

What's Up! Well I promised some pain in the arse biker that I would keep up and blog more so here goes a bunch of rambling on what I have done the past two days.

Yesterday, it was a typical crappy day here in Michigan but I am a man on a mission so I got up early as usual and took the long way to the coffee shop then to work. It was around 34 degrees and threatening rain... or snow all day but that didn't deter my attempts to first reach my self imposed mileage goal for this year and to try and store up some sMILES for when I am force to drive the damn jeep... you can store sMILES and carry em over right??? Any way I ran out of work right at 4:30pm and when I pulled into my driveway at 6:30pm I had managed to squeeze in 102 sMILES! That made the days total 138 sMILES. Once home I tinkered with everything but my blog... Not a bad day after all.

That brings us to today, which makes yesterdays crap look like roses today. Once again I was up early and out the door sporting a smile that I am still able to ride the bike, even though I hear muffled undertones where-ever I go... "nuts...retard...kook...idiot..." and many more. It was a warm...ehhh...warmer morning than all day yesterday. Yes, it was a whole whopping 36 degrees, with bonus drizzles and puddles! I was planning on leaving work on time again and going for another ride even though the weather wasn't very appealing... pouring rain! But the boss man had another plan for me and I got stuck at the office until after dark so I just headed for home on all the back roads thru neighborhoods since it seems that people have a heck of a time remembering how to drive their vehicles once we turn the clocks back. Oh my! I almost forgot to tell you how warm it was... actually almost hot, it was 41 degrees! Once home and out of my alien suit I was just about to sit down and that's when my lovely little comedian came home. I inquired what was for our nightly snack and lunch tomorrow... she threw the fridge door open... squinted and asked if I had my sunglasses on and could see into the fridge. That's her way of saying "it's empty". She then disappeared down the stairs to her art studio. Seeing that I am part comedian too, I said "c-ya later honey, I am going food shopping" and headed out. I think I fixed the empty fridge problem... whatcha think?

I am waiting for her to come up and see my job well done! I know your wondering, so do you want a little peek into what Betina has been up to in the basement... Up until three weeks ago she never even knew about this art median, now she is an expert painting up wonderful things. I am going to take close ups of all her work and get it up here in the near future. Oh, and if you see something you like, let me know... I am selling it to support my motorcycle habit.

Nothing like a Weekend of Self Torture

First it was the time change last week reeking havoc with my after work rides by bringing on the darkness much too early. Then old man winter is slowing regaining his grip on us and I am sure its not long before he starts to squeeze the life out of us for the next four months. If all that doesn't spell "SIDS" (season induced depression syndrome) or in my extreme cases "CGOARS" (can't get out and ride syndrome) then try figuring out why a guy with these issues would come home with this DVD this week.




After watching the first four hours, salivating, yearning to take off on an adventure I pass out dreaming of riding in exotic lands. In the morning when I awake the only plus is that it is Saturday and I get to head down to the shop, that's the motorcycle shop. Its quiet around the shop so after watching an adventure video of some riders adventures to Alaska I spend the rest of the day washing a couple of bikes and rearranging the showroom floor. The day ended kind of like what would happen if you sent a recovering drunk to an open bar... really, it's not like I was being pushed over the edge or anything...but now look what sits in my garage.




Sunday morning I woke with even stronger desires for my adventures. Instead of restless twitching in bed trying to suppress them I got up and departed the house on my own little adventure at 8 A.M.. Once the garage door opened and I rolled down the street in 32 degree weather and snow squalls I figured I wouldn't get any takers for a ride today so I put the Bob & Tom show on and just jammed out about 100 miles before calling the gang to see if they were going to breakfast somewhere. Sure enough they were going to their normal spot so I turned the bike around back north and made my way to meet them. After a big fulfilling meal and some cheerful camaraderie I suited up and headed off into horizon looking for more adventures. I could of rode all day but figured since it was all ready pushing into early afternoon I should get home and spend some time with Betina before another work week starts.


Once home I put that damn DVD back in and now I am a mess again... anyone want to borrow it for a while so I can't torture myself to death.

Fall Adventure Ride

He’s back! Joerg, my crazy all-season adventurer partner, just returned from a trip to Russia and was in dire need for an adventure ride…and who can relate to the great need to ride…me of course. The weather here in Grand Rapids has been unbelievable with highs in the 70’s all week long, but do to the daylight savings our days have been ending around 5:50 P.M.. That was not going to stop us, Joerg left work a little early and was at my place right at 4:30, here is a shot of him speeding into the parking lot.

We greeted each other, but that’s were the conversation ended. I cut his questions short and told him we can catch up later…let’s ride! South was the choice for this adventure and a lunch break perusing of mapquest turned up some interesting looking roads that had names that ended in “Trl”. After dodging some slow vehicles we made it onto so typical dirt roads that would bring us to this new area. Along the way we saw more of those darn deer just hanging out all over the place. Oh, here we go this dirtroad here should lead to my newly discovered trails. I spy the entrance, and the sign says trail open! Yippe!!! Of we go traveling up, down, and all around thru the woods. It was a little tricky navigating because it was getting dark and the ground was covered with leaves. After about two miles I had gotten my off-road legs back and we where cruising right along. We stopped atop this one hill and took some pictures and then carried on.

I got caught up in the moment and was just having a grand ole’ time when I came to the top of a hill, stopped and looked behind me and…. “Oh shit…where did that Joerg go!” I sat and waited… a minute or so past, so I shut my bike off thinking I would here him coming… nothing… then I see a headlight making its way toward me… but then it disappears… then its on… what is he doing.

Well it took a few minutes but then he rolled up next to me. I said everything allright… He laughs, and says “Yeah!, everything but my mirror” and taps it and it flies off into the dirt. He immediately tells me for the 100th time, “I hate F$#^ing Sand!!!” We laugh and pack his mirror up and decide we should try and get to pavement soon since it is pitch dark by now. Eventually we end up on pavement heading back toward Joergs abode but decide the traffic on the main road sucks so we head back to the dirt roads and just putt along at 40 with our highbeams on taking in mother nature. It was a perfect night!

Once back to Joerg’s place we sat in the driveway consuming frosty beverages talking about past trips and future trips… and this great weather!

Look what I found!!!

Slashing up a Grand Time!

Ghost and Goblins are out and about… and two of them showed up at our door tonight. We welcomed them into our dungeon of selfishness to celebrate the Halloween season.
The night started with handfuls of pistachios and olives before progressing to ghoulish soup for all. After filling our guts with tasty morsels, we took hold of our dedicated gourds and slashed away until they resembled some sort of evil life that might spook the local child folk come Friday night. The alcohol flowed and the knives slashed as we carved our way to delight. When all was said and done, we had four carved faces and four goofy folks just enjoying a school night in Michigan.

Buddy's Big Day!

Ok, for those that do not know, my mom has horses and races them at the local track here. A little over a year ago little Buddy was born. Below is a picture of Buddy and his mom a few days after he was born.

About a week or so he came to the track from the farm he was born and raised on so that he could start the journey of being a race horse. Today was Buddy's big day, he was going to be hooked to the cart and taking out on the race track for his very first time. It was neat to watch Hank the trainer prepare the little guy and talk to him. Once all ready to go Hank walked him around then stopped so my mom could quick snap the cart onto him. I was told that sometimes this is quite the experience because most horses will go nuts bucking, kicking and jolting away, but little Buddy just stands there and then when Hank gets in the cart he just walks to the track.

Once on the track Hank encourages him to go a little faster and the little bugger just trots right around the track like he has done it a hundred times before, a true natural! After his two laps he is brought back to his digs where he is rewarded and then bathed...

Some photos of him in action.

Rewind...Play...

Okay, now that I have a keyboard and can type fast instead of plugging away on the cell phone I will rewind and give a little update on my trip down here to Pompano Beach.

Specs/Facts

Friday: Grand Rapids to Auburn IN.

Saturday: Auburn IN. to Chatanooga TN. (actually Trenton GA.)

Sunday: Chatanooga TN. to Wildwood FL.

Monday: Wildwood FL. to Pompano Beach FL.

Total of 1585 miles

Temps from 32 degrees up to 81 degrees, mostly sunny with clear skies, one little shower approaching Pompano Beach.

Funny moment of Sunday was trying to get a site at the KOA in Wildwood. Mind you it was 70 degrees outside, I ask for a tent site, the gentleman looked at me like I was nuts and responded, "aren't you cold?" Hell no! He then states that the temps are going to drop tonight and it will be very cold. Hey, mister... I am from Michigan, it ain't gonna be cold tonite... my first night tenting was 36 degrees. He just shrugged and said if you insist, good luck!

What a perfect night, I quickly set up my camp, road acrooss the street to pick up two 24 oz. frosty beverages then returned to cook my soup for the night. I could of sat out there all night. My site was under a nice tree with loads of spanish moss hanging down, slightly blowing in the summer breeze. I got a great nights sleep and got up early and hit the road for the fast 275 mile blast to moms. I arrived right at 11 am in time to unload the bike, hop in her car and make it to the track to see something special (next post). After our track visit we went to this nice restuarant for something to eat and drink before retiring back to her house for a mid-day nap.

Later that night was spent catching up and tinkering around the house.

That brings us to this morning, we are going to head to some Japenese Garden to check out exotic plants and critters... I will post that later.

Mission complete

Wow! I am here, i mean there! Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, kind of busy riding. This is a pic of my sat. Nite digs. A little warmer, but not much. Headin out with mom now, will get my hands on her computer later with more details.

Wow! What a day. Mostly rode secondary roads, flying phil sugested rt 127 from just outside of cinci to chattanooga. It was twisty, hilly and fast. The foliage and views were amazing. Got to camp late, then headed to sticky fingers for some well deserve ribs & beer. Good nite!

Trains cars oh my!

Up and enjoying a cup of joe. Night went well with temps and gear, but with a huge train depot next door and busy highway near the sleeping was light. On the positive side, it's 615 am and i am ready 2 roll! Later

Back in the saddle again!

Well here i am, on another adventure! This time i am heading solo to florida to visit my mom. Tonite, the first nite i am camping in auburn indiana. Below or above you can see camp with supper cooking. Thats my new adventure tent :thanxs dad!: on its maiden trip. Tonite will be a test of man & gear, going to drop to 36 degrees. Look for more tomorrow.

Back in the saddle again!

Well here i am, on another adventure! This time i am heading solo to florida to visit my mom. Tonite, the first nite i am camping in auburn indiana. Below or above you can see camp with supper cooking. Thats my new adventure tent :thanxs dad!: on its maiden trip. Tonite will be a test of man & gear, going to drop to 36 degrees. Look for more tomorrow.

Canoe Trip... Lots of Fun!!!

All I can say is "What a weekend!" It was full of fun, laughs, throwing each other under the bus... shit...sometimes even throwing yourself under the bus for fun... No words will explain it so I will just leave you with a few pics since Dave can't get them up on his site. Enjoy... and yes, we actually canoed... but I have no photos...

Look out Ladies...

Margarita games!!!

Entertainment by Dave!

Is he Nakid??

Look out! There is Trouble in Town.

Perfect quiet day in Michigan when the phone vibrated that I had a new text message from Dangerous Dave stating they where closing in on the border. The only thing that meant was that good times where about to begin. I quick gear up and punch out, as I approach my ride in the parking lot I spy Markie waiting patiently for the departing time to meet the bad boys from Boston. We mount our steeds and head out to make it the 89 mile trip in record time. Like all great plans just as we arrive into the town that we will be meeting in I get that fimilar twitch in my left breast... sure enough it's another text from Dave stating that they will be arriving in 40 minutes. Mark and I gas up our bikes and head for the off ramp that the boys will be exiting the slab from. No more than five minutes after we get there they rumble by... we quick catch up and lead them to the refueling station; Jumbo's Burger Bar for a couple cold ones and some chow. The Barmaid there is this full of life old lady that keeps us on our toes the whole visit... and even encourages us to try and run out and leave Zig with the bill... Once outside we mount up and take the boys on the scenic tour of West Michigan back to my palace to prepare for the canoe trip. More on the canoe trip in the next post. Be sure to check out Dave's blog as he posts day by day adventures on his three week vaca... bastard!!!

Phone, Rush, Labor, She's Here!!!

Brrringg-Brrringgg!!! “Hello” Yes, is this Paul, “yes”, this is Doctor Mike, your wife just went into labor, please get here asap! “Oh wonderful, I am on my way!” After suiting up, dodging the rain clouds I make it there. Damn, just a little to late for the delivery, upon entry I learn that I have a beautiful new girl. After checking in and making my way thru the hallways I make the corner into the room, and wow! I almost fainted, there she was, on her little crib, just so happy to be into this world. It was love at first site! I just had to immediately stare at her, and then rub and caress her. Then, I instantly got concerned about the boys chasing her, she has such a nice figure and one hell of a set of jugs already. I know, I shouldn’t be worried because I know she is a runner, and will out run most the boys that chase her. Unfortunately she couldn’t come home with us last night, she was born with a little boo-boo on her toe. The Doctors promised me they would have her all fixed up early this morning so she can come home tonight.

I know, I know… I need another kid like I need a hole in the head… jesh, five of them now… I think I will be putting on an addition for more bedrooms this summer.

If this happens again in the next nine months, someone please check me into rehab, I think I have a problem!

Later,
One Happy Dad
More photos later

1st stop! Gas city

8 pm and we are in gas city indiana for the night. At the poor house bar for beer, more adventures tommorrow.

Busy!!! But a Breif Update

Whoa! Where does the time go. Well this is not going to be a great write up folks but I figured I would give you a little update to whats been shakin' and hopefully soon I can do individual write ups with more details.

Well as you see from some one liners and photos from the road that first I went for a weekend motorcycle ride to Niagara Falls. It was a great trip and Canada is great for riding! Then immediately upon my return we packed the car and headed right back east to visit family and attend a cousins wedding. It was so nice to see family and spend time with them.

Last weekend was my big race. Part of my get back in shape and exercise plan was to sign up for the 5/3 Riverbank Run (5k) and give running a shot. Woo-Hoo! I did great and now I think I am hooked on running. Looking forward to more races this summer.

In between all this fun has been the joys of work, yard maintenance, garage cleaning, lawn mowing, etc. etc...

I will try my hardest to get something up this weekend on all the events with some photos. Thanks for hanging in there and always checking back to see if I have posted something new.

Later,
Paul

Rondevou

Beer drinken bloggers celebrating dave's birthday!

Four!!!

Finally a nice day. Went mini golfing with mom, pam, and b. Great time by all

The girls with jp

A NIGHT WITH PAM

On the road again. After we arrived back in boston pamela took us out for supper to a nice pub. Next we went to jp lick for an ice cream. Wow it was good!

Farewell beer

Another adventure comes to an end.

Finally

We made it!!

Day 2 stop 1

Great, fast b-fast. Raining out now. Oh yeah, they let us into Canada again!

Look @ what we found

Once in koa we found this next door. The raging bull sports bar. No rain yet, 200 miles from home. More tommorrow.

1st stop

@ joes in owosso for a liquid refreshment. Met two characters, look 4 more later.

On the Road Again

Well folks just a quick entry here to say "stay tuned". In about 1 hour I will be hitting the road with Joerg to head to the YearRoundRiders event in Niagara Falls for the weekend. I will send a few pics and text along the way so you can feel like you are on the ride with us, and then when I am back you should see the whole write-up. Weather at time of departure is about 70 degrees and raining, hopefully we can get in front of the rain for the afternoon and then the rain will pass us while we sleep... thank god for wishful thinking.

BMW Open House - Birthday Bash!!!

The dealership has been planning an open house which includes a special birthday bash for a long time customer, employee and friend of many. I was quite excited since this would be my first time on the "other side" of an open house. The morning started very busy before opening with all lending a hand to get the whole shop in order for the crowds. After we got all set up there was a very short lull where we all ate breakfast and chatted before the customers arrived in herds. The weather didn't corporate but that didn't stop all from coming in, taking test rides and purchasing all the gear that they wanted for the new riding season. The highlight of the day, Bob Burns 80th birthday party. If you ever meet Bob you would never guess that he was over a day over 60. He rides every day, takes long trips all summer long, hangs out at the local pub and has quite the knack for picking up the young girls. I always think that it is such a privilege and inspiration to know someone like this. So many folks grow old so fast by becoming less active, sitting on the couch and not getting out in the public. I hope that at 80 years young I can be as active and happy as good old Bobby.

Bad Habits? Take the Course

Back in the dead winter of January I was lurking around the web looking for different things to do this year that would challenge me and not be the same old stuff. One thing I came up with was something that both B and I have been thinking and talking about for the past year or so, some sort of motorcycle class, preferable a tough one. I searched and found a couple, I was really interested in the course that mimics the police training courses but it was being offered in April/May, iffy weather in these parts and kind-of pricey, not mentioning that we would have to stay overnight in a hotel. I put that on the back burner and found a local MSF ERC (experienced riders course) that only cost 25 bucks… yeah that’s right, 25 bucks. The state picks up most of the cost, glad to se my tax dollars going somewhere that benefits me for once. Again, this course was scheduled to be the first weekend in April and runs no matter what the weather is… but at only 25 bucks, what the hell. I sign both B and I up and patiently wait for the day to arrive.
The week leading up to the course I had this feeling I was going alone since it was saying 40 degrees and raining, but the weather gods changed there mind and gave us a perfect spring day, full sun and 62 degrees!
Class day – Up at 0600, we had a little snack while packing our lunches for the day. The sun was just prying its way into the sky and the thermometer read 34 degrees at departure time. I was worried about B since I know that she doesn’t like riding in the cold but she had a smile on her face and made it the 35 miles there with out stopping or being cold. Arriving right on time we filled out the appropriate paperwork and mingled with the other riders. There where quite the array of bikes and people. There were eleven participants, 7 men and 4 women, there where 2 Gold wings, 2 large cruisers, 3 Standards, 2 sport bikes, and 2 sportsters. The day went something like this, brief discussion about next lesson and some pointers, an instructor demonstrates, then we all take to the range for 20 minutes or so. Then we dismount and repeat. It was a great refresher course, I was hoping that I would have some bad habit that they would address but as the day wore on I gave up hope and realized that I ride pretty well… then it came, my bad habit… I hang my helmet on the mirror instead of putting it on the ground. I kind of chuckled and thought, geez if this is my one bad habit I picked up over the last twelve years I am doing good. And of course like usual, B put everyone to shame and the instructor couldn’t believe how good she rides, that’s my girl!!! It was the best spent 25 bucks in a long time and a very enjoyable refresher course. Here are some shots of B, I snuck of the range and quick snapped some pictures of her before I had to do my drills.

The Artist

Over the long Michigan winter Betina mentioned to me that she would like to try oil painting. I thought this was a great idea so I immediately dragged her down to Michaels and purchased her an easel, canvas, paint and a few brushes. It didn’t take long for her to get started, she already had many drawings of what she wanted to paint.
Betina immediately sketched out her drawing and adjusted it for the canvas size, when done with all the prep work she rolled up her sleeves and began painting. Next thing I know we are at the store getting her 1st piece of art professionally framed. It looks awesome!!! Check it out below.

Since she had her first painting under her belt she stepped up to a big canvas, 30” x 40”. I quick snapped a photo to share with you even though it is not completed yet.

You can be sure that you will see more of her artwork here in the future; she is currently enrolled in an oil painting class for the next six weeks. I can’t imagine what her work will look like after the lessons. If anyone is interested in one of her paintings the bidding starts at $1,000,000.00