I'm not as young or as sad as I look in this selfportrait. I'm a 46 year old wife and mom to two kids (18 and 21). We live in a small town in Illinois. I took a couple of drawing classes in college and have drawn here and there over the years, but never on a regular basis until a few years ago. That's when I read Everyday Matters and decided to draw a little everyday. I haven't actually managed everyday, but still I draw much, much more than ever before. I always was an arty kind of girl, but never actually filled a sketchbook until I started hanging out at the Everyday Matters message board.

Some other things I like to do:

• soak up the big city atmosphere by visiting Chicago
• bicycling
• reading
• hiking
• hanging out with my family (including Hawkeye, our poodle)
• volunteering in the children's ministry at our church
• relaxing by the water (I'm an expert lounger!)

Last year I reopened my antique shop within an antique mall that I am managing. It keeps me busy, but it's work I like.

You can check out my attempts to draw daily at my blog, http://drawdaily.blogspot.com