Help

After a week and a half of illness and issues in our home

everything appears to be getting back to normal...

...for the most part.

I've been struggling to catch up on daily chores

and having a bit of a problem

recapturing motivation and creativity.

As the frustration grew

I decided to hit my bookself

in search of help

for obvious reasons!

 

Toodles!

I'm off to be inspired.

(what are you doing for yourself today?)

Through Your Eyes

Our eyes are a gift

used to look out at the world.

We see beauty, pain, promise.

There is window shopping

movie watching

site seeing

people watching.

So much time is spent looking out at the world before us.

What about what's in here?

(Tapping closed fist to chest)

What we don't see while looking out is ourselves.

How often do you look in the mirror?

I mean really, Really look?

Do you see yourself for who you are?

Do you see your life for what you have?

How often do you close your eyes and look within?

Gift yourself with some time today.

Time for self-reflection.

Time to look at yourself and see your beauty.

Now close your eyes and look deeper yet.

 

Do you see?

Beautiful, isn't it?!?!?!

Love is Everywhere

Love truly is everywhere.

Open your heart and it will find you.

 

I love finding hearts in nature.

Heart shaped stones,

hearts in trees,

leaves shaped as hearts.

This year

a theme has presented itself to me

over and over.

Driveway double hearts!

People backing up, then pulling out.

Leaves two pretty hearts behind.

 

I often wonder if the driver

upon arriving back home

notices the love they left behind.

Enough

Enough

adj: sufficient

adv: sufficiently, fully, tolerably

pron: a sufficient quantity or amount

When is enough enough?

Why do we own more than enough yet still long for more?

Why don't we ever feel we are enough when we are so much?

The key lies within.

To conquer the insatiable thirst for more

we must realize we already "are" enough.

As is.

Come as you "are".

For you.

Think about it.

Just your mere existence.

Miraculous.

Breathe

The ability to draw in breath.

Inhale, exhale, inhale again.

Life.

You use your eyes to see.

To absorb the beauty around you.

To read and understand the words placed before you.

The words are processed and sink deep into your brain.

Thought.

Miraculous.

Feel.

Can you feel the warmth of your house?

A blanket?

A loved one's arms?

Along with the feel of touch comes the feel of emotions.

Feeling a hug with both body and soul.

Miraculous.

Your life is a gift.

Every day you wake.

Every celebration, every challenge.

Another moment gifted to you.

To learn, to love, to feel, to experience.

Don't wait for more 'stuff'

to feel enough.

Don't wait for acceptance from others

to feel enough.

As you are

You are enough.

Plain and simple.

 

 

You

 

are

 

enough.

 

 

(disclaimer: author has massive head cold. post produced through fog. hopefully comprehensible)

Time

 

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.  ~Carl Sandburg

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.  ~Willaim Penn

I've been reflecting on time lately. I look at my kids and see how fast time seems to fly. I wait for my tea water to boil and feel like it is taking forever. I rush around like a crazy woman trying to get a million things done in a day. I have a few minutes to myself and I am a deer in headlights unable to move, trying to figure out what direction to take.


I have been wanting to carve out some time for myself. Me. Alone. In a house with five people who depend on me every second of every day. Sometimes the demands are suffocating, causing me glimpses of an imaginary life where I break free, get in the car and drive, drive, drive. Far away where I can find solitude. Just for a moment. Then I will return. I promise.


Just the thought brings loneliness and guilt as I don't want to lose a single minute with these precious beings that share my dwelling. My mind flashes to the future when they grow and part ways with "home" and I get instantly sad and reminisce. I cling to the present desperate for it to remain as it is. How can I miss my children when they're right here? Trust me. I'm capable!


Time. A slippery commodity. As I type this I am being bombarded with young voices preparing for school. Waiting until they leave to post would prove fruitless as baby will be dropped off and demanding my time. Noon will see my four returning as it is a half day, end of quarter, semester. End. Another time line complete. My focus wanes.


Last night I tried to take shots of the moon. It was full and bright, huge and gorgeous. I don't know how to set my camera to take a good shot nor the time to learn. I shot anyways. If I had more time, it would be a better picture. Instead it is what it is. A big white hole in the night sky which actually turned out to be pretty cool considering the shadow effect. Can you see it? To the right of the moon? (if I find the time, I will play with the image and see if I can get it to pop)

I'm off to drive the kids to school and kiss them to pieces.


This moment. Right now. What are you doing with your time?

Playing

Hi all.

I hope I was not misleading with my lettuce flower picture from my previous post. Nope. I don't live somewhere dreamy and warm. That picture was taken during the summer. My back yard currently looks like this!

The past few days have seen quite a bit of downtime. Mother Nature has dished out a small snowstorm and a couple of viruses have chosen our house to host their latest party. With the weather outside being frightful, I've been spending a few stolen moments doing something delightful!

I have been rediscovering photoshop thanks to Kim Klassen and her awesome Skinny-Mini course. She offers several other great Photoshop courses as well and is a wonderful teacher! She also offers textures and tutorials. You really must check her out.

Here's an example of what I have been up to.

The picture from last post...

The picture with textures added and played with. I also added a quote from John's E-book My Eternal Journey which you can find more information about at the bottom of his blog page.

 How cool is that?!?!?!!!!!

Simplicity

Do you know what this is?

I bet you don't!

I bet most of you have never seen one of these.

I hadn't either until I planted my first vegetable garden a few years ago.

I am in love with growing things but

not so in love with all the rules of gardening.

I tend to be a

fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants

kind of gardener.

I do what I can when I can.

Plant what I want where I want it.

If it grows, it grows.

If it fails, another lesson learned.

What you see pictured above

is the bloom from leaf lettuce allowed to go to seed.

Or should I say, ignored for too long!!!

 

Isn't it lovely???

I was so taken by the simple beauty of it.

The delicate stems and buds.

The gentle yellow bursting at the tips.

This little flower is less than a centimeter wide.

All that glory in such a tiny little package.

It brought such a smile to my face

that I harvested a bunch

brought it into the house

and put it in a lovely vase.

Simple Beauty

Discovered by letting go.

Living in the moment.

 

 

 

That is what I wish for all of you this weekend.

Let go.

Live in the moment.
Enjoy the simple beauty life has to offer.

A Shout Out

It appears the majority of people drawn to blogging are women.

Perhaps that has to do with our gift of gab?

I am taken by so many of my fellow women bloggers.

Their beautiful words, amazing artistic talent, depth of sharing.

Big smoochy wet kisses to all the bloggy ladies out there! 

But what about the men?

Today
 I want to raise awareness of

and give a shout out to

 a few of my favorite male bloggers out there.

Woot Woot!!!!

 

~~~~~~

John with The Healing Seed

He is insightful and generous in word and spirit.

He shares stories, wisdom and wonderful art.

A true feel good space in cyber world.

He is a beautiful blogger and brilliant friend.

~~~~~~

Jerry with Shadowhouse Creations

He is a self-taught extremely talented photoshop guru.

He shares tutorials, textures, photos.

His work is amazing and generosity never ending.

If you are even remotely interested in photoshop textures, it is a MUST visit.

~~~~~~

Dan with Single Dad Laughing

He touches on important and heartfelt subjects such as self-esteem and homelesness.

He also has a knack for embracing the lighter side of life

and an insatiable appetite for M&M's.

~~~~~~

Terence

I discovered him through is book:

Nothing Happens Until It Happens To You

Not only does he stand for and speak as a victim of job loss due to the struggling economy,

he also allows you into the thought process of the male ego.

The book is about his loss of long-term employment

and the journey he takes into the world of job seeking.

While speaking of struggles, fears, and hardship,

he is able to tell his tale in an entertaining voice

sure to keep the reader smirking.

The characters are quirky and real.

Truly entertaining.

I am unfamilar with his blog 

but discovered it highlighted in Reader's Digest.

You can find it at

Pink Slip My Ass

Trying to Focus

My mind wanders a thousand miles a minute. I grasp at a thought and hold on desperately. "Stay with me. Stay with me." I plead silently in my mind. Off it goes to gallivant with the other dreams, memories and tasks dancing and prancing and playing their little tricks on me.

                                                                  Focus

                                                                           Focus

                                                                                    Focus

That silly little word that decided to take up residency with me for the year. It is quite apparent why the choice was made to take him in. He knew I needed him and perhaps he was lonely without me. So we continue on building and bonding and learning to live with each other. 

Since I seem to have a major case of child-induced mommy ADD I'm never sure what I am supposed to focus on at any given time. My goal is to be able to focus on whatever task is at hand and move on to the next with the same sense of presence. So far it's been a struggle but I am definitely learning and growing.

Here's hoping your words are serving you well so far this year.

(messing around with mixed media encaustic collage)

What A Kick!

No time to post today. Baby will be here for the day. Wanted to share a link for Improve Everywhere and their 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride. What a hoot! How these people can be so straight faced and serious in such mass numbers is beyond me. The faces in the crowd as they realize they are riding with pants-less people are priceless! I find it fascinating how movements start and sometimes what those movements are. Everyone wants to belong, fit in, enjoy life, smile, cause others to smile. Takes guts and thick skin!!!! Baby it's cold outside! Hope it makes you smile too. Still sharing the love my dears.

Love Thy Neighbor

I'm sure everyone by now has probably heard about the Tucson Arizona shooting this past weekend and the innocent lives that were lost. There seems to be a new level of anger and rage in this country. As a people, why are we allowing this? Why choose separation and anger? Why not come together in tough times?

I don't claim to know the reason behind the shooting, nor do I think it matters at this point. What I do know is that attitudes and moods are contagious. It is proven in study after study. Why are we allowing minds to be poisoned with negativity, anger and hatred? We must come together as a country (a world) and change the mood. There are millions of everyday people in this world. Let's use those numbers to start spreading love, acceptance and peace.

My all time favorite YouTube video shows just how simple it can be. (warning: you may need a tissue)




Imagine the masses exuding love, acceptance, compassion.
Imagine the power of the movement if done by the millions.
Imagine the benefit of the contagious spread of love and happiness rather than hate and anger.
We are all capable. Let's begin now.



Reach out to your friends, families, neighbors.
Use technology to reach those far away.
I believe we can do it. I believe we have to.

I send my love to all of you.

Prayers for those whose lives were lost and for those families grieving the loss of their loved ones.

Book Whore

I am a self-declared bona fide book whore.

I LOVE BOOKS!!!

I can never get enough.

I buy, borrow, rent and gift them.

My library card has at least 50 titles out at all times.

(partially due to my book loving family)

I cheat on them with others

reading several at a time.

I start them and stop them.

Use them (but never abuse them).

The feel of the pages between my fingers,

the weight gentle across my chest

the smell of their smooth jacket wafting age up my nostrils,

the words they share with me like secrets

in bed

at the table

when my husband isn't watching

and when he is.

Constant companions

willing to go anywhere

be taken anywhere.

Fantasy worlds and lives are gifted to me.

Experiences within the pages

secrets between us

for the brief time held in my hand.

Books

their content

Concrete yet not

Stacked

spread open

torn and worn

old and new

always waiting for someone

anyone to pick them up

give them life.

Discovering pleasure in the pages

unable to stop

as if a junkie

with words my drug of choice.

You won't find me sporting a kindle.

Oh no no no!

Beloved books.

Always and forever.

What reads are you taking advantage of today?

my current stack of good reads in progress

1. The Tao of Pooh (just acquired at a used book sale

2. Traveling Mercies (absorbed it -I love Anne Lamott!) 

3. Crooked Little Heart (first Lamott fiction I've tried -haven't started yet)  

4. Embroidered Effects - fun! creative! easy!  

5. Her Last Death (holy crap! raw, daring, gripping, can't put it down!)   

6. Complete Photography Course (cheaper than a class - bought it as gift for myself - desperately need the education   

6. Encaustic Art - purchased for my love of encaustics and for self-education

 7. Somerset Studio Magazine - just because it's soooo much fun!

what's this I see?

 

 why, it's a book in a box!

A Blessing And An Update

I was cleaning my desk yesterday and found the folder that was left to me when my grandmother passed away. On the outside it simply says "This is for Lynn". It is filled with clippings and sayings, prayers and hand-written scraps, letters the children and I wrote to her, pieces of my writing I sent to her. It warms my heart that she kept it all and made a folder just for me. The best parts are the handwritten words. The lost art of writing. Handwriting, like the voice, like fingerprints, uniquely one's own. I love looking in that folder and seeing Grandma's handwriting. Knowing her pen moved methodically over the paper putting every mark down deliberately and thoughtfully. I'm going to share a piece she had saved for me. It is not written by her (rather copied) but obviously held value. My gift from her I now share with you.

A Blessing of Solitude: May you recognize in your life the presence, power and light of your soul. May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe. May you have respect for your own individuality and difference. May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good and eternal happening. May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride and expectation with which God sees you at every moment.

p.s. Huge, huge thanks to all who have kept Mr. Lennon in your thoughts and prayers. It was the oddest thing. After over a week of self-starving (even with the meds in him) and fading, he suddenly started eating! Yesterday he ate three cans of food and returned completely back to his normal self. Overnight! It was crazy!!!! Now he's back to being Mr. Naughty Pants (one of his many nicknames)! Thank you all.

words, words, words, words

I LOVE WORDS!!!!!

My word of the year.
Focus
Soooo hard!!!! It is already proving to be quite challenging (and more apparent that I need it).

My alternate word. (kudos to my creative support sister Elena for... well... supporting me in it)

The following word creatively conjured up as a joint venture.

Thanks go to Word verification, Elena, and Self.

Mookyper - n. or v.  or however else you want to use it (definition) 1. a state of being when one has embraced their inner freak  2. the feeling/action of twirling gleefully in mismatched flowing clothes and brilliant scarves with arms outstretched embracing life to the fullest. 3. Free spiritism. Also my new nickname from Elena. What to call her? Maybe I'll call her Lala (for love angel *wink*)

Last year #2 son created his word of the year.
Opaldeous - (definition) The best of the best.
He created the word and meaning, remembered it all year and embraced it. Bravo little man!!!

Focus

Mookyper

Opaldeous

Hey, if Sarah Palin can make up words, why can't I???

I want to embrace all three of these words and use them regularly. Who knows. Maybe we can get them accepted into the dictionary of real words! Heck, what am I talking about. They're already real words!

I'm off to focus on my to-do list.

Have an opaldeous day.

May moments of mookyper wash over you as you go.

List list list list

Today's list prompted by Aimee over at Artsyville!

I'm so frustrated. Today I figured out I'm suffering from Creative Constipation.

Causes? doubt, inhibition, excuses, laziness, fear, restriction, inaction, time
Cures? action, action, action, action, sew, write, create, knit, take photos, play, draw

I have no schooling or training in anything creative, yet I love to create. But I don't create.
I'm a perfectionist and have trouble doing anything that I don't do perfect. I am far from perfect in anything so that is a limiting characteristic.
My favorite types of art are mixed media. The messier the better. So why don't I allow myself to play? I stopped playing as a child when I was very young. I exchanged play and creativity for anal retentiveness and control. I know. Boring, right? But they got me through. Funny thing? I now live with five extremely creative people who cut loose and make constant messes. What do I do? Stress about the mess and obsess on the disorder (I also adore and love all their creations).

From this day forward I vow to work on cutting loose and creating. It won't be perfect and probably never will be. I realize that now. The realization is freeing. Now I will create for fun. For the freeing feeling. I will try my best to let loose and see what becomes (although I will be cleaning up after myself).


(example of the self-talk that wanders through my brain. this particular train of thought happens to be that of increased self-awareness and exploration. problem solving. this is good. me no likey the bad.)

Focus

I chose my word for the year.

Actually, it chose me.

Earlier on I had a different word.

One I picked. A good one.

An obviously-not-set-in-stone one.

One day I took a shower.

In the shower I asked for guidance.

So much I want to do, learn, experience and accomplish.

So much that needs to get done but never does.

It seems quite impossible due to the million directions I am pulled daily.

The distractions, the clutter and mess of large family living.

The crazy pace that lives seem to take.

Practically pleading for an answer

a word came to me.

One word.

Focus

Makes sense.

I tried the word on.

Ran some errands.

At the store, a book would catch my eye.

Stop me in my tracks.

I started to page through.

The word came again.

Focus

Grocery store. 

I have a list.

There's a sale.

Start looking over sale items.

Not on list.

Focus

Driving in the car.

Mind running a million miles an hour.

Almost miss my turn.

Focus

I kept the word in the front of my mind for days.

Tried it on for size.

Focus

It seemed to keep me on task.

Perhaps this is the perfect word for 2011.

But what should I be focusing on?

Is that really the best word?

After all, I replaced my original word 'compassion' with 'focus'.

Was that the best choice?

Should one really give up compassion for focus?

Can't I have both?

I'm already compassionate, do I need to work harder at it?

Obviously what I need to do and seem unable to do is...

Oh drat. There goes that silly brain of mine again.

Question. Analyze. Doubt.

No. No. No.

Just FOCUS!

(obviously I need it)

I sat with the word for weeks.

Played with it.

Stroked it.

and finally accepted it.

My word of the year.

Focus

I woke up today (or rather was woken up after five hours of sleep).

Focus

I had images in my head of a creative way to portray my word here.

Focus

Couldn't find the blocks I wanted to use.

Daughter begging me to help her with a project.

Ask her for patience.

Focus

Decided on a different approach.

Husband made me sit down and eat.

Daughter still pulling me toward her project.

Focus

Boys start waking up.

Cat needs shot. Still won't eat. Offer treats and love.

Focus

Set everything up to take picture for blog.

Camera battery is dead. Shit!

Focus.

I'll post without picture.

Walk back upstairs.

Daughter now in tears because I will not drop what I'm doing to help.

I drop what I'm doing and start doing what she wants.

Shit! Stop myself and ask once again for patience.

"I'm almost done honey."

Focus

Here I am. Finishing what I set out to do.

It took me well over an hour.

 There were many distractions.

I was being pulled.

The post is done.

It wasn't the outcome I intended.

But here I sit.

Finished.

Focused.

Off to help Darling Daughter with her project.

I bet she lets me focus!

*wink*