So appropriate for Valentines Day

I'm not quite sure how to tell you this, but I think I'm in love. Its appropriate that this love should find me at Valentines Day dont you think? Well, close to Valentines Day. I just watched all the TV shows from Valentines Day so I'm pretty sure that makes today count as like a second Valentines Day.

I am in love with this blogger's artwork.
http://thalitadol.blogspot.com/

Did you check out the link? What do you think?

Here's the deal. I have a wall in my dining room. The wall has a very large low fish tank that has one fish inside of it. I dont like fish and I will forever think that it looks stupid to have a giant fish tank with one fish, but regardless of these facts it's what I have. I need something on that blank wall to distract the eye from the oversized fishtank.

The story behind the fish is that my husband read about red devil cichlids and became obssessed. He just had to have one. He read that they grow really big and need a large space so he went on craigslist and found a huge tank and stand. Then he got the red devil and we named him flash. Flash was pretty small when we first got him, maybe the size of the palm of my hand. Now he's probably the size of my hand so he has doubled in the 2 years we've had him. However even with that growth he still looks stupid in the giant tank. Hes going to ned to grow at lest 5x larger for me to even pretend I'm okay with the space he's been given

So why dont we get more fish for the tank? Because Flash eats anything we put in, including fish that are bigger than him. We had one that was truly huge, his name was humungosaur or goliath depending on who you ask, and it took Flash only 2 short weeks to slay the monster. He took down a crayfish twice his size in only a day. Guppies last mere minutes.

Once my husband had exhausted all options of fish that might be able to stand up to the mighty flash he tried fish tank decor to appease my loathsome attitude toward the giant tank. He put in a pagoda (I love pagodas), he added a log (which is now the dark cave from which Flash lurks), he put in natural stones etc, he tried a bubble wall (I hate the bubble wall) and then he put in plants to liven it up (plastic plants do not "liven" up anything). No matter what he has tried I cant get past barely tolerating the giant tank that stole my wall space. But tolerate it I shall because my husband loves it, loves Flash and its a bonding thing for him to share with our 3 boys.

So next time you stop by feel free to admire Flash and his giant aquarium. (If you can see him through the scum) The only thing I dislike more then the fish tanks themselves is how gross they get. My husband tries to keep them lovely but when he gets busy or forgets I crawl out of my skin every time I see the murky water or algae filled glass. But I quietly and patiently wait for him to fix it because my husband quietly and patiently waits while I let the rest of our house become almost as filthy as the aquarium. This is one of the many reasons our marriage works. We do not disparage or nag, we simply ignore and evade. It's served us well so far.

And now that I've gotten thoroughly off track let me go back to thalitadol. Her artwork has a beautiful, wistful, playful innocence that I find inspiring. She does custom work where you send her a picture and she hand draws and then digitally colors it. The results are outstanding. Check out her etsy shop and the custom picture of the girl standing by the piano. I want a picture done in that style of my three boys. There are only a few huge problems:

1. I need to convince my husband that its a good idea to spend somewhere between $240-$360 on custom artwork to put on the wall above the fishtank. The thing is, he hates that I put stuff on all the walls in our house. He makes a big deal out of how I wont be able to handle leaving that wall blank. He likes blank walls. I feel like the level of convincing needed is waaaaaaaay over my head and capabilities. Plus, her artwork is sort of "cutesy" for his manly tastes.

2. I need a good picture of all 3 of my children. Hmmm, I can't a good picture of even one of them usually so I'm not sure how to even go about this. On top of that the picture cant just have my three children smiling, it needs to tell a story. If I'm going to drop that kind of dough and put in that kind of effort to take the picture, convince the husband etc... it's got to be the worlds best picture. Any ideas? What is most adorable about my 3 boys together? What is the single most important thing to capture about them? How can I portray their togetherness and comradry in a photo/painting?

3. Final problem. There are a couple pictures out of the thousands I have that really speak to me, so would it be more worthwhile (aka easier because i already have the pics)to have a series done? I have the worlds best picture of my youngest sleeping on the floor, he is angelic in his sleep and it always makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy to see him like that. I have a picture of my oldest and his surfboard. He is, and always will be, my daredevil and adventurer. I have a picture of middle child surrounded by puzzles that he's built. He's a thinker and always so proud when he accomplishes a task that it makes you smile with him. I also have a couple of really cute twin photos where they're holding hands or dressed the same or doing something "twinny" so that could be an option too.

4. I was lying about it being my final problem. My final, final problem, my dad is an amazing artist. I know, what a hassle right?!?! :) Anyways, would it be awful for me to have him look at this artist work that I love and then see if he might be able to do some version of it himself? My dad reads this blog. In fact he even called me the other day to remind me to take my laptop to bed so that I would remember to blog :) He's cool like that. But... he is super busy with an exhausting job and he hasn't really ever found his place/voice as an artist. I'm sure that its what he was meant to do in life, be an artist. But I am also sure that life doesnt always give you the chance to do what youre meant to do, it gets in the way and muddles things up.

Well, that's it. Now you know what I'll be thinking about for the forseeable future. This amazing artist, the blank spot on my wall, the fish I loathe and the picture I need. Do you ever things like this that you're sure you NEED eve though it is clearly a want item?