**I did it!!**

Mini Benicio - in Sooty Buckskin

Well... mostly... ^.^

Today is February 28th... the last day of NaMoPaiMo.

As per my usual... I spent all day, desperately trying to wrap up my designated NaMoPaiMo model. I don't know how... but I managed to juuuuusssttt sneak a few layers of dullcote in before sunset... to get him (mostly) finished!

There's a reason my friends (one in particular...) tend to refer to me as "Last Minute Lauren"... Haha!

In my defense... the last couple of days out here in the desert... have been less than ideal for "finishing" models. Wind... Rain... and colder than normal temps (Yup! AZ went from 70-80* days... all the way down to 40-50*, almost overnight!). Regardless... I did drag my feet on him this month... and as a result, I found myself fighting the weather change, when I should have had him completed a week ago.

Mini Benicio... with his painting buddy: a CollectA Shire foal in Buckskin Tobiano

He may still be a bit shinier than I'd like him to be (a result of dullcoting him too soon after the rushed final layers of my regular sealer)... and his eyes aren't glossed yet... but both he, and the foal above... are essentially complete! Just in time for NaMoPaiMo to be over!

Honestly... I'm rather disappointed that the month is over already. I enjoyed the effort it took to stick to this goal. And, while I had planned to participate more (I had several other topics I wanted to write about...), sitting down to type, somehow never happened.

I know... big shock... ~LOL~

I suppose I should just be glad that I did manage to finish... just squeaking in under the wire!

It's been a rough year or so for me in my studio. Between struggling with family & health issues, which in turn, led to a lack of motivation, and inability to really focus on any one project long enough to actually finish it... it's taken all of my where-with-all to not dissolve into a bundle of doubt and indecision. It was this inability to actually see a project thru to a finishing point... that has kept me in a holding pattern... just treading water.

Which only led to more frustration...

Insecurity is such a vicious cycle. One that can be very hard to break out of...

Thank goodness for NaMoPaiMo! It gave me the swift kick in the pants that I needed! Just as I had hoped it would!

While I may have spent the majority of the month dragging my feet on my registered model, Benicio... for once, I wasn't just sitting idle. Starting him did exactly what it was supposed to... He lit the fire of inspiration inside me, that has helped me to move forward on other lingering projects. Projects that needed to be finished (badly)!

Just a few of my NaMoPaiMo follow-up ponies!

(Poor Favina, the Traditional Buskskin in the back, has waited nearly a year for her points/legs!)

Thanks to NaMoPaiMo... I now have multiple models in various stages of progress; from prepped to nearly completed... and I can feel that my long dormant fire will continue to burn as long as I can keep it stoked and humming!

Already looking forward to participating again next year!

Maybe... just maybe... I'll manage to sit down, and write a few more blog posts here and there... ^.^ It's a goal to strive for... right?