Little Lily

This is an oil on canvas painting I did less than a year ago of my boyfriend and his King Charles Cavalier puppy. This picture was taken from my camera phone so the lighting isn't as good. It took a while to do because oil is a little longer process than acrylic (what I normally work with), but I like this piece because it depicts two things very special in my life.

Bass Player

This is a drawing I did of one of my good friends planning his bass. At the time, I wanted to experiment with the color and texture contrasts in a spacial setting.

Dr. Krauthammer

Recently, my eyes have been opened to Dr. Krauthammer. He won a Pulitizer Prize in 1987 for his writings - and also writes frequently for the Washington post. Krauthammer believes Obama is an intelligent man who will act more far-left than what he says. He encourages Americans to watch what Obama does, not necessarily what he says. He also says Obama has 3 main goals: to control public education, energy, and national healthcare. I think the massive amount of spending and taxation that must be done in order to attain free public education (all public colleges) and free healthcare is absurd. Obama is taxing 60% from the top wealthiest people, and I don't think this is fair. Sure they have a lot and should give back to society, but not a majority of their pay check that they actually worked hard for. I also agree with Krauthammer that no country ever "spent their way into prosperity" because the Obama Administration is just printing money. I think we need to revive the old system of "checks and balances". Also, Obama is against loan businesses in the financial services industry. This is my father's field of work, and I believe if you take away the ability to get loans or have financial options available, crime will go up because more people won't have access to money right away. Krauthammer predicts that if the unemployment rate continues to go up to 8-10%, the republicans could take back the presidency in 2012. Amen.

Wild Red Lilies

This is the first "still-life" painting I did when I was a sophomore in highschool. It's acrylic on canvas and hangs in my parents house. The subject matter is wild red lilies in a pot. I think this is one of my favorite still lifes because I like the complementary colors of the lilies and the green background, however, I also like the blatant abstraction of their leaves.

Comfort & Courage

Bliss to me is right next to you in a couch or a bed
At the beach or inland
Watching our favorite shows
I admire your attitude, your tan glow and illuminate smile
You are bandaged physically, bruised at the heart
Yet, your spirit steadfast for better days
I feel like I would be angry, bitter, & at worse sorts in your shoes
But not you, you said tall as a Georgia Pine
You alone are my comfort & courage
Softhearted, but teaching me to be strong

-This is about my mom who has been ill and had lots of surgeries this year

"Now don't it always seem to go 'that you don't know whatcha got til' it's gone...'"

I used to sweat the small things & would get so uptight
About where you forgot your dirty boat shoes,
or how you would leave a single dish out – and your laundry sprinkled on my bedroom floor
Now, all my dishes are put away and there are no more boat shoes on my floor
Or tracks of mud from their treads to provoke my complaint
My floors are completely visible, like my melancholy heart
The faucet once left open – drip, drip, drip
Just blares silence to my eager ears
I just hear my heart beat – thump, thump, thump
I used to race behind you to keep things perfect
But I didn’t realize how perfect they actually were…
All my complaints are gone, but now I understand
How funny the saying goes…

I was inspired to write this poem because it's the way I feel after someone close to me isn't in my life anymore

Stefanie's Savannah Style Macaroni & Cheese

Being from the South, I've always been raised to know & love cooking. I'm from Savannah, GA, where we love to put a little "south in our mouth", or as my fellow Savannahian Paula Deen would say "the more butter the better, y'all" (which pretty much describes our genre of food). Anyways, I have a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese that I made up that is simple, yet delicious. Here it is:
1. Take a large pot and fill 3/4 with water and bring to a boil.
2. Add morton salt to taste, then pour half a box (this is for a casserole dish size serving) of Barilla elbow pasta (what I prefer) into the water.
3. When pasta is finished, drain and then put into casserole dish. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
4. Put half of a stick of butter on top of the pasta, as well as half a bag of shredded mild cheddar cheese (you can put more in if you prefer very cheesey macaroni) and stir until butter and cheese are almost melted.
5. Add 2.5 cups sour cream and stir again.
6. Dash salt and pepper and stir one more time.
7. Finally, sprinkle bread crumbs on the top of the macaroni (this is a unique touch to my recipe). Put in the oven for 35minutes and you have Stefanie's homemade macaroni ready to serve for you and a group of your friends!