This one was a Christmas gift for my mom. It’s in honor of all the families of 3 out there as we were a family 3. A small family and a close family. (I’m sharing it as a print over at Etsy today.)
I’m officially home, but not officially back from my holiday just yet...just dipping my toe in for a moment and saying hi! I loved hearing from you on my blog Christmas card. It was so nice to reconnect with you especially those that I had lost touch with over the last few years.

Ashland, Oregon Christmas 2007

Let’s just say, I haven’t been the best about sending Christmas cards lately (well, probably for the last 4 years....) I used to love sending them. In fact that was the one time of year that I opened up to my creativity and shared it with my family and friends. I used to make my cards by hand (even hand drawing a reindeer on each and every card one year). But over the last 4 Christmases, life has been especially full (exciting and scary) in so many ways ~ one relationship came to an end, another one began, 3 moves, and an extreme amount of focus on building a business that had many attempts to discover its voice, that has finally found it and is now officially on its way!

Thank you for your patience and understanding while I took care of "life" for a few years. And to those of you who believed in my dream with me, and gave me hope and direction on days when I lost sight of where I was headed, thank you. I’m happy to report that I’m happy, that I’ve made it, and I’m on the other side. And I guess this blog has taken the place of my annual cards. It is now the place where I share my creativity, with everyone. It is my annual Christmas card, updated all year long.
What I would also like to say is ~ to those of you near and far who have known me for a very long time, especially over the last few years, even though I haven’t sent my annual card to connect with you during this season, you all are ALWAYS in my thoughts and this is my card sending you much love, happiness, health, peace (and of course a little creativity) in the final days of this year and on into the next.

And to those of you who just know me through this blog, I’m especially grateful to have my circle of friends continue to grow throughout the world. Thank you for coming on the journey with me and for sharing your journey as well.
To everyone who is celebrating this holiday today, I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas. And wherever you may be, I’m hoping you are having a beautiful day.

I’m a little last minute myself with the release of the first ever Creative Thursday gift card, but it just occurred to me (while on vacation) that this might be a fun option for you, so here it is!!
Introducing the Gift Card, that can be emailed now at any time (even before Christmas!), except of course the middle of the night when I might be sleeping :)
And in the new year, I will offer these in traditional gift card form to send by mail as well. They come in prices of $35 or $70, $100 or a denomination of your choice. You can find all the details right here.

4 x 4 in. featuring partidge, penguin, sporting my favorite scarf from the Gap that I wear every day, and Levi the snow owl.

Well, I’m off on holiday ~ Yippy!!!!! Can you say "a creative girl needs a much needed break". We’re heading up to Ashland, Oregon to be with my Mom for Christmas (can’t wait to see you Mom!). I’m sure I’ll be checking in here at the blog while I’m away, as Ashland is too inspiring not to share with you.
In the meantime I’ve left you a whole bunch of posts of my favorite things, with eye candy and me gushing over more artists I love. I say, you can’t gush enough over what people create and share with the world.
Wishing you a happy holiday time, filled with fun, great gifties, visits from Santa Claus and his reindeers, delicious food, a little bubbly, maybe some snow, a good movie or two, treasured visits with those you love, and peace.

(click here to buy original)

window of wisdom by the super talented Kimberly Applegate

Another friend and colleague in the world of daily painting, I feel like Kimberly’s art is a secret that is waiting to get out. Her work is AMAZING. I subscribe to her daily painting list, and finally snapped up one of her originals (you have to move fast, because she sells them right away). She specializes in painting chairs and seating of all kinds in oil on panel, and each one is more beautiful than the other. I LOVE my window of wisdom, Kimberly and thank you for the special gifties you included :)

Kimberly posts her paintings on her blog and she’s also started selling notecards and most recently prints!!

Cherub by Jennifer Hogan of that’s all

Meet Sean’s sister, Jennifer Hogan. She’s a wonderful photographer, and that’s all. (just like the name of her shop). Jennifer’s traveled all over the world, shooting some of the most compelling images I’ve seen. The photo above is one of my all time favorites, and one that I thought was perfect to share with you in honor of the season. The following is her description of this special image.

"A little boy with pigeons on his shoulders looking like an angel, a cherub. This was taken in the piazza San Marcos in Venice Italy. There on the plaza you can feed the thousands of pigeons who make Venice their home. Here a young boy had just begun to feed the birds when suddenly two pigeons flew onto his shoulders. With delight in his laugh he looked as though he had sprouted wings and become an angel in front of the San Marcos Cathedral. A miracle."

It was a big step for Jennifer to open her Etsy store just this past month. So be sure to show her some special Etsy love, something all the artisans and frequenters of Etsy are so good at.

Merry Christmas Jennifer and Dorothy! Thinking of you ~

A little snow village display behind the registers at my favorite Anthro store

And I know I’m not alone in this one. Anthropologie, you gotta love that store!
I finally made it back to The Grove (yesterday) here in LA and took some pictures of the Anthropologie store decorations that I was raving about earlier. It’s awesome! This store in particular is decorated down to every last detail. Wouldn’t it be fun to have that job of decorating Anthropologie stores? I wonder?! Or is it only glamourous from the outside, as many jobs are. But you know it’s got to be fun to make those paper mache animals.

It’s all about the animaaaaals! (This I know.)

Can you see the llama among all those paper snowflakes? This is one of the window diplays.

5 x 5 in.

I squeezed in a little creativity today in between yoga, trips to the post office and a very fun afternoon lunching and Christmas shopping with Seanie, in the rain. You know I get very excited when it rains here and I can wear my bright yellow boots.

(click here to buy original)

It’s almost here.

I’m known to tuck a little bit of Christmas all over the house. I’ve been doing this since I was a child. In fact these two are from my childhood. Santa is a little wooden ornament from Germany, and the ceramic tree is a remnant from my miniature collecting days. I have them in the kitchen where I can enjoy them all the time.

Just for fun, I listed a couple of hand painted ornaments over at the Etsy shop today. I’m hoping that next year I will plan ahead and make a whole bunch of ornaments!

Christmas elves for Mike (turns out I’m now taking clay commissions!)

Since I had so much to say last week about feeling overwhelmed, I thought I’d update you and let you know that I still have a lot to do, but I’m not feeling overwhelmed anymore! I decided to take a different approach this week, starting on Tuesday and it worked and it’s now Saturday and it’s still working. I know you’re dying to know how I came to this realization :)
Basically I just gave into it all. I accepted that feeling overwhelmed was just where I was, and I realized that I was feeling this way everyday whether I was taking time for myself or not. Since that was the case, I thought I might as well just do what I want to, like go to 2 yoga classes this week, and have friends over for visits. I don’t know how this happened exactly, but I ended up getting everything done on my list, while I was having a fun filled week. It was like magic, I suddenly had more time, even though I thought I was taking time away from my work. Hmm....note to self, take time for exercise and fun often, (especially during the holidays)

Hope you’re having a fun Saturday!

Today my oh so kind neighbor, now one of my favorite friends (since we moved) Erika is having her annual holiday candle sale at her place here in LA. The good news if you don’t live in LA, is that she is going to expand to start shipping these beauties. They range in price depending upon size and start at $15. She’s happy to take custom orders too, where you can choose color, size and scent.

Let’s just say, I’ve always been a candle person, and these are my new favorites. They burn a long time, right down the center while they cast the most beautiful warm glow. And the scents are all soothing and subtle (I prefer when anything scented is subtle).

If you want to order one, or two or three (they look great in a series of 3) you can just email her.

I had so much fun taking these photos yesterday. Did I mention how much I love my new camera?

photo by Joanne Garel

about me?! I was tagged about 6 months ago now, by another lovely blogger and internet friend, Erinn over at the happy living blog. Along with sharing some of my favorite things before the year is out, it’s time I respond to my tag and share my 8 things, already! I woke up this morning, thinking it’s time, it’s time for this blog post. Because you know, for some reason and here’s my first thing

1. I can talk about myself, tell stories, share opinions, any time, any where but if you ask me directly to share about myself, I freeze up, feel anxiety and don’t know what to tell you. I’m having anxiety right now writing this. Sometimes I think I’m still figuring out how to just be myself.

2. When people ask me where I’m from, I don’t know what to tell them. I’m not really "from" anywhere. I’ve lived in California, Florida and Colorado, and they all feel like home in different ways. I was born in Freeport, Bahamas, so sadly my dreams of becoming the president of the United States cannot be realized.

3. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but now that I’m learning to surf, summer time in Southern California is a close second.

4. I once tried to break into the "Ocean’s 11" premiere party, by scaling a small wall with my ex-husband and hiding in the very fancy celebrity porto potties. I came out just minutes too soon, otherwise we would’ve made it! (I had met Matt Damon, so nice by the way, while they were filming Ocean’s 11 at the Bellagio, in Las Vegas, so you know, I thought I should go to the premiere party.)

5. I was married already for almost 10 years, to one of the best people I know. It was a wonderful time. I was happy, but it was also time for us to head in different directions for reasons far too complicated to share in this tiny post. Our marriage ended but our friendship continues and I’m so happy to report that both of our lives are going so well. I still believe in marriage, but mostly I believe in LOVE and I believe that things always work out.

6. I like to start every morning with a latte made from our stove top, Bialetti Italian coffee maker that Sean and I bought in Venice, Italy. And along with this I also want say that I adore Italy (who doesn’t?) and have hopes of living in Europe part time, one of these days soon.

7. I have dreams, lots of them and they never stop coming. One of them is a dream of designing something, anything for Anthropologie, because I’m just completely head over heels for that store. My other dream is to appear in the annual holiday portrait ad campaign for the GAP. As I mentioned in my post a few days ago, my very first job, just days after turned 16 (I applied as soon as I became old enough because I idolized this store), was at the GAP. I think I’m a good candidate for their campaign, don’t you? Teenage Gap employee turned artist?

8. I like to think that life just gets better and better. In so many ways, I’ve never been happier.

There, my 8 things. That wasn’t so bad after all. (I actually think I may have squeezed in more than 8 things into my somewhat lengthy 8 things. Brevity is not my specialty.) Sean just woke up and and I asked him how he would answer these and being an improviser, he said "you know you should just write them fast without thinking too much about them". Since I’ve been losing sleep while thinking about them off and on for the last 6 months, I think that idea has gone out the window. Next time, next time someone tags me I’ll improvise them!

I’m not going to tag anyone directly, but if you read this blog ~ let this be your tag to share about yourself, either on your own blog, or here in the comments. It’s always so fun to read these and learn about you.

thank you Erinn

"Happy House" by Linda O’Neil

Another favorite ~ my newly acquired "Happy House" painting by the oh so wonderful Linda O’Neil. If you’ve followed the blog for a while, then you’ve probably seen Linda’s comments from time to time. That’s how I discovered her. She left a comment here on Creative Thursday. (This is the second time I’ve bought original art, from a connection made on the blog). When you leave comments here, I often follow your link back to your blog so I can get to know you and see what you’re up to.

Right after I moved into our new home, which I had decided to officially name our "happy house", Linda visited here and left a comment (turns out she lives in my old stomping grounds and one of my favorite places in the world Boulder, CO). I wanted to see how she was doing so I followed her link back to her blog and saw this beautiful painting, titled so perfectly "Happy House". I immediately clicked over to her Etsy Shop, Abby Creek Studios, and it was still available, and that was that, I had to have it.

And every day that goes by I feel more settled in our new place and I am realizing just how happy I feel here in my "happy house" with my beautiful painting hanging directly across from desk.
Thank you Linda, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

(ps ~ Linda also paints great pet portraits and if you love this painting you can get it as a print over at her Etsy Shop )

The latest creation for Twig was released today along with another edition of 10 prints of "All together now" just in time for the holidays. So if you missed the first release, here’s your chance to get one.
I hope during this celebratory season, that you might take a moment or two to celebrate who you are.

4 x 4 in.

When I was a little thing, I used to love to collect miniatures. In fact the tinier the better. Maybe this is why I’m so fond of painting small? When I saw this week’s IF topic I couldn’t resist painting some more "little things".

(click here to buy original)

As we wind down the year, I thought it might finally be time to post some of my favorite things that I’ve been meaning to share, and somehow just haven’t gotten around to it yet. In the same way that I feel like I have so much to say sometimes, I also feel like I have so much to share, and then end up not sharing at all. Silliness, I know, but oh well, here goes. This is my first in a series of a "few of my favorite things"

I’ve had 3191 included in my links for most of the year and have been meaning to share it for the longest time. This is an idea started by Stephanie and Mav, artists and friends who live 3191 miles apart, (one in Oregon and one in Maine) who also like to get up early, who also take some of the most wonderful photographs I have ever seen. I love all of them, all of them, all of them!! They are simply beautiful. And by simple, I mean just that. Stephanie and Mav have a way of capturing simple bits of every day and making them beautiful. Visiting their blog is this little reminder to stop and notice what’s around you every morning.

It was incredibly hard to even choose which photos to share with you. The one above is from yesterday’s post. And the one below, from November 9, stood out to me. You know how I love negative space to begin with, so I think the colorful magnetic letters positioned towards the bottom of the image on the all white background really caught my attention, and then that combined with a photograph that makes q-tips and cotton balls stunning...how can you not love it?

....I so hope they turn this into a book...maybe? and if not....maybe they’ll continue next year. In the meantime, enjoy! There’s almost an entire year of mornings for you to see.

A special Christmas commission with the sweetest cat and dog who are best buddies. Kate adopted them at the same time as a kitten and a puppy, and they bonded. I also love this recent photo of them that she sent. This year’s Christmas picture attempt. I just had to share it with you.

I’m having such a fun and festive weekend ~ went to a great holiday party last night, making Christmas cookies and Chex mix today, playing around with the new camera ~ a happy Sunday it is. Hope you’re having a good one too.

6 x 6 in.

And the series continues...
I think that this soft and neutral color palette is symbolic of the calm I’m beginning to glimpse.

(click here to buy original)

After months of oogling and ogeling this camera, and the gorgeous photos of some of the artists who also use this camera, I finally got it! Meet my new Nikon D40 and my bright yellow rain boots. I’m already so in love with it. For so long now I’ve been wanting to post more photos on this blog and contribute more to Flickr, but I’ve been waiting for a chance to post them with better quality. I loved my Canon Digital Elph for the last 5 years, but lately I was having to shoot a lot of photos just to get one that wasn’t blurry. The limit of 2.0 megapixels just wasn’t working out anymore.
I took a black and white photography class in college and have always had a little bit of a passion for it. This will be so much fun to explore photography with an SLR digital camera. Oh, the possibilities!

Also, I want to make a note about yesterday’s post. I heard from one of my favorite people with concern that she had asked too much from me. I certainly hope no one misunderstood what I meant by my post.
It is very important to me to live as honestly as I can, to communicate as clearly as I can. And really I just feel bad, that I can’t do more, that I can’t visit more blogs, leave more comments, that I can’t always show as much support as I want to whether it’s through the internet or in person, that I can’t do even more for my customers, for my friends. The well has just been a bit on the empty side, that’s all. And I wanted to communicate that with you, so that there’s no confusion. (Two yoga classes this week, and painting the snow series is helping to fill it again)
While I want this blog to to stay happy and light, and filled with creativity, art and inspiration, I also, as I mentioned, want to be able to communicate freely here from time to time. I’m the kind of person that if there’s a "pink elephant" in the room, I want to point it out, especially if it’s my elephant. And I think in this case, the pink elephant is that for so many people, our plates are all just too full, and no one is saying anything about it. It is especially obvious during this holiday season, or I’ve just been watching the Today Show too much this week, where they’ve had at least 10 segments on how to make your holidays "stress free". It seems like people are just going on like this is somehow a normal way to live life, constantly depleted, with no sense of calm and peace. Granted, I do live in a big city where I probably see more of this, also why I’m wanting more peace so desperately. So, I’m calling out what I think is a "pink elephant", especially in my own life. I don’t really like to be a broken record of "finding balance". I know I’ve talked about it several times in podcasts and mentioned it here, and I realize more than ever that this is just some pattern that I’ve chosen to create in my own life. No one else is responsible for me feeling overwhelmed. On the days when you realize that your circustances have changed yet you still feel overwhelmed, that’s when you know it’s you, and not what’s outside of you. Yup, it’s ultimately all my choice ~ how I choose to feel about things. It’s a relief to know it’s my choice because this means I can change it, but it is also a curiousity to me as to why exactly I do this to myself? I just wanted to state all of this here on the blog, mostly as a reminder to me of the intention I have of changing this pattern and to let you know what’s happening over here incase you were wondering :)

I did paint another snow series and will be back to share it shortly!

5 x 7 in.

I’m sensing a series of snow creatures...
I found the paper background in these paintings at the Blick art store this week. I was disappointed because they didn’t have the supplies I needed, but then I walked out with this beautiful paper that is inspiring this little series. I guess it was worth the trip to the store after all. Funny how that works. You always have to keep your eyes open.

(original is sold)

I have a vision of waking up and starting my days with a sense of calm and peace.
(instead of jumping out of bed in a race to get as much done as I possibly can, in these sometimes 15 hour work days)

When I said I had so much to say in my post before Thanksgiving, it’s because I do. Exciting projects are on the horizon, but I’m not ready to talk about them just yet. This post is more about me having some things on my mind that I’m wanting to share. Sometimes when I have a lot to say, instead of saying it, I say nothing and then become overwhelmed by all the things I meant to say combined with all the now new things I want to say. You see! Now you know why I podcast ~ these thoughts and things have to get expressed somewhere ~ I’m so very much missing the podcast these days, which I will get back to soon, but I’m no longer making empty promises of when that will be exactly. There is so much I am wanting to do, and since this has been quite possibly the busiest 8 weeks of my life (and I say this having already lived most of my life with no lack of interesting and busy times, including many moves...) it has also been an adjustment for me not to become completely overwhelmed, and hard on myself, with the feeling like everything is falling behind, at a time of year when you already feel behind as soon as Thanksgiving is over.

I am happy to say that as of today all my orders are just about caught up, my work is hung and ready to see in NY at the show opening this Friday and my home feels mostly moved in, somewhat organized and definitely holiday cozy. We put up our tree this week and it calms me down whenever I sit by its twinkling soft white lights. Sean laughed at me the other day, because I buried my face in the tree to smell the evergreen scent to try and calm myself down. Hey, I’m trying anything these days to keep some sense of peace and balance.

Otherwise so many things feel behind, way, way behind and one of them is emails (and the other is feedback on Etsy!). I can’t seem to get below 700 something in my inbox. Many are not emails that I need to respond to, just ones that are pending that need to be organized and put away, but some are also ones that I’ve been meaning to respond to. So, if you’ve written me recently and have not yet heard back, please forgive my delayed response. It seems that a lot of my emails have the opening of "sorry for the delay" ~ and then I realized that maybe this is just where things presently are. Since there is only one of me doing everything for Creative Thursday, and since it is expanding in the way that it is, I can no longer get to all the things I once could.

I pride myself on being in touch with people, on having good customer service (learned during my retail days at my very first job at the GAP when I was 16), on personal thank you notes with each order, on being organized and efficient. And being a small business I want so much to keep this all going and to be in touch with each and every one of you, but somehow everything has bumped up to a new level and time needs to be re-allocated once again. I’m not exactly sure how everything will move forward, but I plan to explore all of this in the new year. I just want to keep you in the loop, as it has become one of the reasons I keep this blog.

As an almost entirely online business now, I’m finding that this blog is the best way I can keep in touch with all of you at once. In the meantime, please let me know in your emails if you need a response right away, and know that if you’ve emailed me I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. One thing you should also know is that I don’t like to email back a quick response just to let you know I got it. Sometimes that is all that is needed, but if you’ve taken the time to write me a thoughtful email, or ask me questions then it is my intention to write you back with a thoughtful response. And if I can’t answer you right away then I will respond when I have the time to do so.

Part of running your own business is this constant discovery of all the ways you can be more efficient while you try to keep a harmonious balance with the rest of your life. This includes learning about yourself and the ways you work and live best. I’ve recently learned that I work best focusing on one task at a time. If I’m creating then I might want to create for hours at a time, sometimes painting several paintings all in one sitting. If I’m emailing then I often carve out those same hours to respond to the majority of my emails all at once. And after watching the Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of "Eat Pray Love" on Oprah a couple of days ago, I’ve decided that I too tend to be a better person, the less I have on my plate. So, I’m working towards having less on my plate on all at once. Feeling overwhelmed and tense, even with all the exciting expansion that’s happening is not suiting me well. Sometimes I am so excited that I can’t sleep. I feel like a little kid who doesn’t want to sleep because I might miss something. It’s such a thrill to feel this excited about your life, but I’m finding I still need to fit in some rest. :) And I’m just no longer willing to sacrifice the energy that I now know that I need to keep things balanced. It is also important to me that I extend this same understanding to all of you who interact with me, my close relationships and my internet connections. I don’t want people to sacrifice their well being by stressing out over their perceived obligations to me. I understand, that we’re all busy and we all have full lives and I like to believe that if we relax about all of this, we will always connect at the perfect timing, and things will always get done in perfect timing as well. As I move forward I am wanting to break this cycle, and a broken record of "I’m so busy". I also know that my own expectations are high and that my overwhelmed feeling is so very self-imposed. So I’m going to try to officially un-self-impose it! It’s time to stop asking too much of ourselves and of others. I for one want to trust more, and relax into the natural flow of things, so I can move through my day graciously and with ease. And if this means that I have to "fall behind" according to what society’s present expectations are and that’s just how it’s going to have to be.

With all that said, I cannot begin to express the gratitude I feel for the way Creative Thursday has expanded just in the past 10 months. Considering that I wasn’t entirely sure how I would pay my bills almost a year ago, I’m still pinching myself that I can make a living doing what I love, along with the fact that so many of you get as much enjoyment and happiness from my art as I do making it. I’m endlessly appreciative of all of your comments and emails, and the all the support you have given me this year. And I just want you to know that!

A few changes along with the new awareness, I will no longer be making apologies any more about delays. I won’t be making any empty promises especially of plans for the future. And if you know me personally or if you follow me and/or my work on this blog, then you’ll just have to know and trust that my appreciation never ends, that I’m just trying to live the best life I can one day at a time, and I’m simply doing the best that I can with all of this.

I have a vision of waking up and starting my days with a sense of calm and peace.
And I have a vision of enjoying this holiday time with the same sense of calm and peace.

So, that’s all for now. I’m glad we had this chat, and I’m wishing you a very happy Creative Thursday. I’ll be back shortly with today’s painting!

6 x 6 in.

Lots of bunnies over here in Creative Thursday land. ;)

(original is sold)
(this sweet snowbunny is available as a print over at Etsy)

A little Monday fun with a little white bunny. He’ll be available over at Etsy in just a few minutes.

Just a quick note to let you know that due to all the requests for more calendars, I released the final batch this weekend, over at Etsy. happy 2008!

image by the birthday girl Mati Rose

I was visiting Holly’s blog today where she posted this beautiful message painted by Mati. I had to pass this message on, because it happened to be what I needed to see today, so I thought maybe you might need it to.

I had hopes of posting more this week, but it turns out that I’ve been missing a bit, because my spirit has been missing a bit. You probably know by now I really only like to blog when I feel I have something worth sharing and when I feel that my spirit is in tact to share something worthwhile. These posts here at this blog, have to come from the right place. It is very important to me that they come from the best place. Everything is so very good here, really, truly, but there are still moments where things I’ve been ignoring can sneak up on me, and times when my heart needs mending. And times when those close to me have hearts that need mending too.

Anyway, this is why I think it is so important to remember this sentiment. What if nothing is wrong with you and you are perfect just as you are, right where you stand, on this Saturday, December 1st?
In a world where therapy, life-coaching and self-help are everywhere, sometimes you just have to know that there really is nothing "wrong" with you, that you are doing the best you can, that as long as you are alive you will be evolving. And if you choose to you can become the best of who you are every new day.

If you read the comments over at Holly’s post you’re not alone if these words speak to you. Holly’s blog is always inspiring and she summed up these sentiments so eloquently that it’s worth seeing if you are in need of more inspiration today (especially for you creative spirits out there). And it is also Mati’s, one of the girls (a fellow girly show artist this past February), birthday today, and I want to wish her a very happy one!

Since it is December 1st, this morning I decided that for this month I’m putting any worries aside, I’m having lots of FUN, I’m going to walk every night and look at Christmas lights, I’m going to enjoy the holidays, I’m not going to get overwhelmed, I’m going to enjoy my beautiful new home, I’m going to enjoy those I love more than ever ~ I’m going to appreciate all the best of what my life already holds, more than ever.

(by the way, if you need to own this sentiment so you have a regular reminder, Mati has it right here at her Suspect Shoppe)

happy saturday
I’m off to take my spirit to oyster happy hour with my oh so kind (former) neighbor Erika and we’ve officially decided that this will be our sentiment for the rest of the day.