Monthly Archives: July 2014

A Peek At My Day!

Good morning!

Back in January I had posted A Peek Into My Work Day! and I have been thinking a lot about how dramatically things have changed from then to now, so I thought I would share a new peek at my day posting!!!

My day started out pretty typically for my new life, post J-O-B:

Alarm went off at 5:30, and we didn’t drag our not-getting-near-enough-sleep bodies out of bed!! 😉

Get dressed and make the bed. Run down and make breakfast for both of us, and pack my sweetie’s lunch, and get him out the door so he is not late for work!

I had a scrambled egg with some leftover peppers and onions from dinner last night, for breakfast! So yummy!! I didn’t think to take a pic of that! 🙂

I then headed over to my new gym that I have just recently gotten a membership to (this was my first visit!!). I worked out for an hour, and was pleasantly surprised just how much sweating was actually going on (me, not the other patrons – EW!!)!! 🙂

A happy, but sweaty girl, post workout!

A happy, but sweaty girl, post workout!

Next, I was on such a runner’s high, and motivated for my new fitness plan, that I zipped over to the grocery store to pick up a plethora of fresh vegetables to stock up my snacking choices!! Then went home and spent the next hour chopping, cleaning, peeling, and preparing all of the different kinds of veggies for immediate consumption for whenever I wanted!!

All ready for consumption!

All ready for consumption!

I had picked up cucumbers, carrots, celery, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, green beans, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and sugar snap peas!!!

By then I was getting hungry again, and made myself one of my daily protein smoothies!! YUMMY!! 🙂

Protein smoothie of champions!! :-)

Protein smoothie of champions!! 🙂

By then it was 10:30.

I then headed upstairs to take a shower, finally, and then get dressed and do my hair! (That feels SO MUCH BETTER!!)

Next came some household chores: laundry, dishes, bagging up garbage, and sweeping the floors!

So, that brings me to here! Where I am at this very moment. Writing to you lovely people!! 🙂

Next things on the agenda (if I had an agenda) are:

  • Reserve camping spot for this weekend
  • Sign my sweetie up for the gym
  • Pay some bills
  • Bake some kale chips
  • Bathe our dogs – we are combatting fleas – UGH!!
  • Soul Work  – I can explain that in another post if you are interested
  • Lunch, which will be a beautiful spinach, tomato, and steak salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, but will probably be around 2 or 3, since I am still working on my smoothie and it is already 12:00!
  • Arting
  • and then maybe I will do some reading this afternoon/evening, while my girls sleep lying next to me on the couch, before I start on making dinner for my sweetie and I, which will be around 7:30-8!!! We are having baked stuffed bell peppers – a fan favorite around here!! 🙂

Isn’t that such a HUGE change from where I was just 7 months ago???

I can honestly say I am so much healthier, less stressed, and all around happier!!

Life is VERY good!!

Here is to a FABULOUS day!! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, live differently!

Turning Something Old Into Something New!

Good evening!

Now that I have been not working for the past few weeks, I have been looking at my art supplies in a new way. You see in the past, whenever I wanted any new fancy-schmancy arts or crafts do-dad, I would just run over to whichever art store I wanted and picked it up! It would then proceed to be taken up to the art studio, put it in its new proper location, and then nothing. That’s it! Nothing! I wouldn’t do anything with it.

Now that I see that money is not coming in, like it had been, I realized that I have to start being more economical with my art supplies, and that got me to thinking about all of the miscellaneous stuff that has been lying around. What could I recycle into my art play???

Soooo…this morning, I spent some time taking an old box and turning it into two different art journals!!

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I think they turned out rather cute, and they were so easy to create!

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I was so excited by how they turned out that I decided I would look around and see what other household things I could turn into some interesting art journaling backgrounds.

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This was a napkin that I happened to have in my copious amounts of supplies. Note to those who use napkins in your work: if you use a two-ply napkin, you will have an easier time using it if you carefully peel the two layers apart, and just use the layer with the pattern on it! I discovered that the hard way!! 🙂

DSC04576This background was created using a bunch of old checks that I was waiting to take down to the shredder! I tore them up myself and then randomly glued them down to my page using gel medium. Using three colors of acrylic paint and a palette knife, this technique turned out looking a bit like dyed leather. I rather like it!

I am not sure what I am going to do next on these backgrounds, but using unexpected materials in new ways is something that I am going to have to try more in my future projects!

What kinds of recycled materials do you like to use in your art journaling/mixed media art projects???

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!!! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, live differently!!

Living Your Life NOW!

The Fire Starter Sessions

Good morning!

I just finished reading Danielle Laporte‘s awesome book called, “The Fire Starter Sessions“, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, and highly encourage anyone who feels like their is more to life than the life that they are currently living, to pick it up and give it a read. You will not be disappointed!! 🙂

There is an excellent message on the very last page, which made me tear up, with positivity, when reading it, and just new that I needed to share this message with you. I now, in my soul, that there is someone out there who needs to hear this as much as I did! 🙂

So without further ado, here is the message called Now Works by Danielle Laporte:

Now Works

You’re here for a reason.

And that reason is yours to define.

Make it something amazing and really full of love and things that feel hot.

Be unreasonable.

Be scared if you need be.

Just keep moving.

Feeling.

Asking.

Don’t take any shit, and for the love of God, please don’t settle.

Just keep choosing.

Make lots and lots and lots of choices.

You are writing the movie script of your life.

Desires. Lights. Action! (Some tears.)

You’re a hero on an adventure.

This is it. This is the adventure.

Creativity. Change. Livelihood. Art. People. Leadership. Legacy.

Score. Money. Gain. Failure. Pride. Industry. Simple. Love.

LOVE.

Oh, love.

It’s all about love in the end.

And in the beginning.

So start now, today, here.

Let it be simple, easy, electric.

Be surprised, be new, be true be you.

Now.

Here is to living NOW!! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, live differently!!

The Importance of a Morning Routine!

Crown HeaderGood morning!

What is your morning routine? It is one of the questions that Oprah Winfrey asks on her Steep Your Soul interview series. It is something that I have been thinking about a lot, so I thought I would share with you my morning routine!

5:30 am

  • Get up
  • Drink a glass of water
  • Get dressed in my work out clothes
  • Get my sweetie up-and-at-em
  • Make the bed

6 am

  • Feed the dogs
  • Make our breakfast
  • Pack my sweetie’s lunch
  • Eat

6:30 am

  • See my sweetie off to work
  • Take my two four-legged girls for their morning walk
  • Load them into their stroller (yes, I am one of those “mommies”) 😉 and head out for about a brisk 45 minute walk; focusing on being grateful for what I have and envisioning my dream life, and how to get there

7:30 am

  • Get everyone back into the house
  • Stretch/yoga/pilates
  • Meditation

8 am

  • Go over my to-do list, that I had planned the night before, and get started with my day!

Now, that I see this Morning Routine written down in black and white, it seems pretty opulent, but in all honesty I am really enjoying it. I can feel myself falling into a morning of gratitude, and peace, which is something that I had been lacking lately, but have been sorely been needing!

Do you have a morning, routine?

What is it???

Please share in the comments section! 🙂

Here is to a PEACEFUL day! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

 

 

Unemployed and Loving It!

Crown HeaderGood morning!

It has been a while since I have posted, and I thought now would be a good time to catch you up with what has been going on with me!

I am officially unemployed!!

YEAH!!

No, seriously, YEAH!!! 🙂

I am consciously taking a sabbatical from work!

It is time for me to focus on taking care of my health and doing things that feed my soul – whatever that may be; this is a learning process for me! When was the last time I really, REALLY let myself do what I wanted to do? No, I don’t mean be lazy, sitting around watching the tele, eating cheetos (yeah, that happens), I mean, what do I really, really, REALLY want to do?

The things I know for sure right now are:

  • I want to art
  • I want to spend time in nature
  • I want to get my house in order
  • I want to get my health and fitness in order
  • I want to dance for no reason whatsoever
  • I want to reconnect with my close friends and family
  • I want to learn something
  • I want to bake something
  • I want to create something
  • I want to help someone
  • I want to teach someone
  • I want to inspire someone

This is what I am now consciously working on. I have made the decision to take myself off of autopilot and live my life on purpose!! Who knows where I will be in six months, let alone a year, or two, or five, or ten years from now, but this morning, I am in a really, really peaceful, joyful place. It has been a long time since I could honestly say that, but I am happy to report, that today it is my truth!

Here is to a FABULOUS day!

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If you want to have a different life, live differently!!