Year in Review

2014 began, as years are ofttimes wont to do, in January. At least, I assume this to be so since my dusty wall calendar stubbornly insists that time ceased its laborious progression in July of 2012. But billions of Facebookers and one very excited 10-year-and-342-day-old boy convinced me that this was not the case. Time had most definitely continued marching on and had indeed ushered in a brand new year.

Two of them, as a matter of fact.

I wish I could say that I can recall that most monumental of days with great clarity. Alas, the events that transpired since seem to have turned my once-proud thinking apparatus to a sad, gloppy bowl of mush. 

Thus I look to various avenues of social media to do all my remembering for me...

January

Oh, yes, that's right. We rang in the new year at my in-laws' beach house, pulling poor, sad clams from their miserably wet and sandy homes and giving them new ones. In our bellies. 

January also marked another year of maturity for the boy child; that being a nebulous concept for an almost-teenaged male of the species.  

He requested Old Spice Body Wash. We are officially on high alert.

February

"Magnolia Branch I" by April Moen

February marked the beginning of a career in fine arts for me when I decided to offer a piece of my artwork, "Magnolia Branch I," for sale online at the request of a friend who wanted to purchase a print.

She changed her mind. 

Fortunately for me, the trap had already sprung and it was too late for me to turn back. Uploading new artwork soon replaced my addiction to feeling guilty for not doing housework.

March 

My ruggedly handsome and dauntless husband turned the big 4-9 in March, and he made that nearly half-century look goooood. Here he is modeling the shirt that I made him for his birthday the year before.

(It's a long story.)

April

"Lure I" by April Moen

My vintage fishing lure series of digital paintings got their start in April when my husband implied that he might not be averse to hanging something in his office at work that was a wee bit more manly than magnolias. 

As if there's anything more manly than magnolias!

May

"Bee I" by April Moen

By May, life was buzzing along (nyuk, nyuk) at a good clip. With the looming threat of the ending school year - and fear being the positive motivator that it is - my production output hit an all-time high. And it's a good thing, too, because...

June

School's. Out. For. Summer.

July

"Cherry Coke" by April Moen

I'm pretty sure this is the only tangible thing I accomplished in the entire month of July.

August

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary in August by reminiscing about the time when we had these strange green pieces of paper with pictures of old dead men on them. I've forgotten what they're called.

September

September was a beautiful time. A magical time. A glorious time. I mean, just look at the joy radiating from that new middle schooler's face. 

October

"Le Paon Bleu" by April Moen

My husband spent most of October and part of November in Arizona for work, so my son and I got to experience our first Boy Scout camping trip without him. 

My husband is forbidden from traveling ever again.

But October also proved to be an epic month for me when I was accepted into my very first gallery. 

November

November was a bittersweet month for the Moen household. We had to say goodbye to our awesome feline overlord, Arrow. This was especially hard on our son because Arrow was his first real pet, and the first real loss he'd ever experienced.

We decided the best way to honor Arrow's memory would be to open our home to another animal, so we rescued this dashing fellow, Wallace, a two-year-old Boxador (Boxer/Labrador mix), from the Humane Society. 

Sadly, the tie was not included, but we love our Wally dog anyhow.

December

"Rhododendron II" by April Moen

December has wrapped up a year of many firsts, so what better way to cap it off than with one of my first mixed media pieces? Yes, I've expanded my repertoire to include actual honest-to-goodness acrylic paints, gel mediums, and paper and fabric embellishments.

*Gasp!*

I know, I know! What will become of my digital art street cred?

Fear not, for I am even now hard at work on new digital pieces. I am so excited to see what the new year has in store for us. 

Here's wishing you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2015!