Step Fearlessly

(To break the captivating spell of a melancholy mood, sometimes all one needs to do is play!)

Sadness presses hard against my back.

A dark cloud.

A familiar shroud.

Life’s big questions going unanswered.

I stop, stare, see nothing but darkness ahead

peering from the crevices of the unknown.

Nearby shadows mock my mood

whispering and beckoning me forward to more of the same.

As I move ahead, pulled to darkness, a reflection on the wall stops me in my tracks.

The source of light?

Angels wings.

They sing their choral splendor of faith, their voices familiar and safe.

A feeling of grace washes over me.

The cloak becomes weightless, floating away, carried by the beauty of the natural world.

No longer seeing doom in the darkness,

I move forward planting firm foot to ground and step willingly into my life.

I'm Baaack!!!!

Hello Blog World!!!!

I missed you!

Boy was that break good for me!

My defeatedly overwhelmed state has been replaced

by optimism and positivity.

I don't blame Blogland for the ugly state I was in.

Quite the contrary.

I find you all inspiring and loving and oh so wonderful!

You may have noticed me lurking around in the shadows.

;0)

Rather I needed a break from the pressures I put on myself.

Needed a chance to step back.

To play. To enjoy. To re-prioritize.

Here is what I've been up to.

The kids and I stained string with various ingest-able items

Playing with art with Amelia (experimental art e-course).

For more info click on button in right hand column.

Helping my man sell his wares.

check out www.loraxcarving.com

sitting around fires

Watching storms and tracking their damage.

catch and release (far, far away) cute garden critters

for the record, we have relocated 15 ground squirrels,

one chipmunk, and this cute fellow below?

He was too cute to move. :) We let him go on the spot.

Lots of visits to the library where I found this cool bike!

Don't know why but it reminds me of Mr. Bean.

Lovelies picked for me by the kiddos.

watching linemen

wildflower (and invasive) spotting

daytime drives

evening skies

perfect shots

swimming at the lake!

Yup. That's what I needed. Some fun times and time to think. I also found inspiring freebies I wanted to share with all of you.

Downloadable positive affirmation page to frame and hang.

Fun positive thoughts page for home, office, anywhere!

more positive freebies from Kind Over Matter

Spiritual reading "Journey of a Soul"

That's it for the freebies.

I know, I know. I hear your screams of "more! more!!!"

How about some great websites to visit?

A blog for photography and editing.

The Coffee Shop Blog

 Hilarious new blog on parenting HERE.

A super cool museum I am going to visit for my birthday

because I'm a geek like that!

Hamilton Wood Type Museum

and a video about the museum.

A glimpse of what we will be up to today

can be found here.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

On the flip side of all this fun and inspiration

I am feeling much better and am hoping that somewhere

amongst these photos, links and freebies

you have found inspiration as well.

Peace Out My Friends!

Dreams

To be continued...

Sunday's drive offered a stupendous suprise.

After a weekend long visit from my nephew,
we all loaded into the van to take him home.
On the drive
I spotted
a bunch of huge nests in trees.

On the way back
Darling Husband pulled over
to allow for closer inspection.
He's such a sport!

Lo and Behold, I think I have discovered
a Great Blue Heron Rookerie!
Want to know what one is?
Check here and read
under "nest sites and nests".

Too bad I didn't have my longer lens.
Yeah, I know. Real "techie" of me.
Check back tomorrow.
I'm heading there this afternoon
for some close-ups!!!!

Gratitude Attitude - Day 10 & 11

(28 days to an attitude of gratitude - learn more here)

No time to blog yesterday but plenty of time was spent thinking of all that I am grateful for. I am especially grateful that my evening was spent going out to eat and watching a concert with some good friends. My wonderful, loving and supportive mother had given my man and I four tickets to Tran Siberian Orchestra for an early Christmas present. To steal the words from Borat's mouth, Wowie Wa Woo! (Okay, I cannot believe I just said that!) What a great gift and how desperately we needed a date night! That was my Day 10.

Day 11 (today) was spent rather lazily. I am very happy I have been working on my 28 days to an attitude of gratitude as it has been a pretty hard month or so. Making gratitude part of my daily inner and outer dialog has helped me get through the rough spots. I am grateful for this journal.

The following pictures were taken by me while I was driving. Don't worry folks! I was paying full attention to the road. My camera was in the passenger seat and the kiddos were in the back. I don't even remember where I was headed but I was feeling overwhelmed. My mind tends to get creative when I need a diversion from negativity. The lights of the cars in front of me were such a contrast to the evening sky settling in. I wondered what it would look like in a photo. I reached next to me, picked up the camera and shot without looking through the viewfinder (remember I was driving). I just held it up and shot. When I came home and downloaded the pictures I thought they looked pretty cool! They are also a good representation of how I have been feeling lately.


I am really working hard at allowing self expression into my life. Fear and self-judgment so often puts on the brakes. Even posting these photos is a step as it allows others into my quirky mind and the quirky things I do in life. But is it really quirky? Maybe it's just creativity. Here's a great little video on self-expression. Enjoy!

YouTube - 6 steps to self expression

Gratitude Attitude - Day 3

© Chuck Kiesling photography

(28 days to an attitude of gratitude - learn more here)

Today I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with Chunk Kiesling. He was a good, smart, caring man. He was gifted in photography. His Photobucket account shows his talent. Click on the link and spend some time seeing the world through his eyes. You'll be glad you did.

I am thankful for the time we spent conversing at parties, for the laughs he gave me and for the time he took out of his schedule to help me understand my camera a little better. I am also thankful for the positive and supportive words he shared with me about my work.
On Saturday I was given the news that Chunk passed away unexpectedly this past Tuesday.
May he rest in peace.