Our Own Secret Millionaire Experience!

I cry when I see an episode of Secret Millionaire. Maybe you do, too.  Something about selfless generosity for worthy causes is inspiring and beautiful. That is why I’m so excited to write about something that happened this past week!

Jesse Hayes, Business Owner!

Meet Jesse. For the past year, my sister Shannon has seen him on the corner of the street near her office at Vanderbilt, and she’s built a friendship with him.  He’s kind and polite, well-spoken, and always has a smile for her.  Apparently, he used to work for Vanderbilt, and then again as a phlebotomist for the Red Cross. He ultimately wants to be a missionary. We don’t know why he has been out of work for some time, but we are sure it’s not for lack of desire! He currently sells copies of The Contributor for a small profit. The Contributor is a local newspaper written by homeless or formerly homeless people.

Jesse is out EVERY morning, rain, sleet, snow or hail.  During the crazy storms we had this past month, my sister asked if he could take a day off because it was lightening and there were tornado sirens blaring.  He said, “I will as soon as I earn $18 to rent my room tonight.”  (He and a friend rent a room in a small home in East Nashville as often as they can afford it).  Shannon, feeling compassion for him, pulled out a $20 and told him to have a great day. He was floored by her generosity and care for him, and it turns out, he would have had a really rough night if he hadn’t had shelter.

My Favorite Products for Women in 2009

Three products for lovely ladies caught my eye in 2009. I couldn’t keep them to myself! Enjoy, and please share your own!

Hip-T’s – $15.95+

Layering is in (and has been for awhile). But sometimes, you don’t want the bulk and extra straps from a tank top just to have some fun fabric peeking out under your top shirt. Or, you might have some low-rise jeans or the dreaded “muffin top” issue to address. The solution? Hip-T’s! They are stretchy little bottoms of shirts that hug your hips and make any outfit look better. The makers provide a slew of fabric options, including solids, funky patterns, and ones edged with lace.

Tip: Buy a couple of staples, and at least one with a little fun!

BagMate – $29.95

Question: How do you lose a set of keys, your favorite lipstick, or that receipt you simply must have today?  Answer: put it in a typical woman’s purse!  You know it’s true, and to add insult to injury, how ’bout that anger management class you’ll need to sign up for after several attempts to find something in the “abyss?”  Ever just given up and dumped the entire contents of your bag out onto the floor in a moment of frustration while your husband or boyfriend (who has his neatly organized perfect little wallet, no doubt) is laughing hysterically at you?  Well, those days are over.

I highly recommend the Bag Mate, which allows you to neatly store all of your purse staples for easy retrieval.  Your phone, lipstick, pens, sunglasses, keys, business cards, and loose change can all be easily found, because they are always in the same place!  A huge perk for me is that when you want to switch purses, you just move your Bag Mate to your next purse. Easy cheesy.  It also has retractable handles, so you can use it on its own.  It comes in a variety of colors.  Check it out here.

Best Products for Work & Productivity from 2009

There are a lot of inventive, genius products and services out there, and I enjoyed my fair share of them in 2009! I want to share them with you.

Mint.com – Free

I’ve always been really good at keeping up with where my money goes. It started with Excel spreadsheets and watching bank statements closely. At the end of each month, I’d meticulously categorize spending in areas like food, gas, business expenses, mortgage, etc. Mint.com has simplified this month-end process. Now? I simply log in and look at pie charts and already categorized spending and take it all in. It’s beautiful! You can create your own categories or use existing ones. Compare your spending to national averages, track bank transfers, payments, and basically stay on budget! Add all of your accounts to monitor them on one site: bank accounts, mortgage loans, car loans, mutual funds, other stocks, and credit cards if you use them. I’m still amazed that this service 100% secure and free!

Practical application: Fantastic for helping you start a realistic budget without a lot of fuss. Just track your spending for a couple of months and see the areas that could be improved.

iPhone – $99+

When these first came out, I thought, “That’s ridiculous. I’m not paying more than $400 for a phone! I was using a Blackberry and it seemed to do everything I needed. Fast forward a couple of years. iPhones are now really affordable (especially refurbished), and my monthly plan is actually less than it was on my Blackberry because GPS capabilities are built in and free. I had been paying $10/month for Blackberry’s GPS service. So, now I have access to the world at my fingertips. Not only do I get style points (which are important for an artist), but the iPhone really increases my productivity. I have apps that allow me to update my clients’ WordPress sites on the fly, check the weather, measure things, track finances, listen to my favorite music, show off my portable portfolio, read the Bible, supply white noise while on vacaction, and even help me learn chords on the piano. There’s simply no substitute (yet)

It’ll Cost You an Arm and a Leg…

My Dad came into town for his birthday this past weekend, and we decided to visit The Carter House, a site of one of the most gruesome battles of the Civil War (The Battle of Franklin). Dad’s a history buff, and I came along to support I actually ended up enjoying it a lot, and I learned a couple of things about art that I never knew…

During the tour, our guide Jim pointed to a portrait of a little child. We all assumed that it was a little girl because of the white dress and bonnet that the child was wearing. However, it was common back then to dress little boys in girls’ clothing until the age of 4, sometimes even up to age 7. One way to tell if it was a girl or boy in a painting is to see if there is an animal depicted with the subject. If it was a dog, the child was a boy. If it was a pony or a sheep, the child was a girl!

Below is a great example of such a painting, though no animal is depicted.

Jim went on to tell us that back then, portrait artists would spend all of the cold months painting headless portraits of children and adults in elegant settings with fine clothing and props. Then, when it warmed, they went out and asked people if they wanted their portrait painted, and if they said yes, they would choose a body they liked and have just their heads painted into it. However, if they wanted their own bodies painted into the portrait rather than the generic ones, it would cost them quite a hefty amount more. This is where the saying, “It will cost you an arm and a leg” originated!

A beautiful note from a little boy

I just returned last weekend from a big art show that I participate in each year, the Holiday Mart in Jackson, TN.  An eight year old named Connor came through with his mom.  He was quite taken with the work that I had displayed, and he asked me lots of questions.  He reminded me of myself when I was little.  I was always enamored with artists that we ran across at fairs, amusement parks, and on vacations.

I asked Connor which piece of artwork he liked best (this is always a fun question to ask young art connoisseurs).  He said that it was “Eternal Song,” my painting of the old master playing the violin.  This is an unusual favorite for a kid, but it turns out that he’s a little mini-master himself!  He’s been playing for four years.  So we chatted about him and eventually he and his mom had to leave.  On a whim, I decided to give him one of my matted prints of “Eternal Song.”  He beamed and was so excited.  His mom was grateful.   Somehow  they tracked down my mailing address, and I received this tear-jerker of a note from my new little friend yesterday:

His mother appended to the letter, pretty much sealing the deal that I would need to re-apply my eye makeup.  Who knew that such a small gesture could mean so much?  I will now look for opportunities to make these “WOW” moments at future shows.  It was my favorite part of the weekend.  See the pastel drawing that Connor drew for the front of the card below: