Category Archives: Positive

And We’re Off!

Good afternoon!!

After a somewhat bumpy start this morning, Jason and I FINALLY have the minivan packed to the gills with waaaay too much camping stuff, waaaay to much art stuff, and waaaaay too many books!!

WHOO! HOO!!

MAN I LOVE CAMPING, er…I mean GLAMPING!!!

I will take tons of pics of our campsite this afternoon and evening and make sure to share them all with you tomorrow!!! The weather is supposed to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT this week in Newport, so that makes me a VERY happy girl!! Faye and Sophie know that something is going on, and they are spazzing out because even though they don’t yet realize we are going camping yet, which they LOVE, they can tell that they get to go for a ride in the car because I just came back from putting their fuzzy blanket in the car, and THEY ARE EXCITED!!

Right now we are waiting for our friend, Don to get here – Don has very graciously agreed to house sit for us while we are gone, and I am sure that he will enjoy the air conditioning, and peace and quiet!!! 😉

Ok, back to the whole art supply thing!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Do you know how hard it was to decide what to limit my art supplies down to??? Well, let’s just say, I didn’t do a terribly good job, but I will take pics of what I brought and show you tomorrow, I am sure it will at least make you smile, because in all honesty, I am thinking I can’t be the ONLY girl with this problem!!! HEE! HEE!! 😉

What else? Oh yes, I have a bag full of books – I never can tell what I will be in the mood to read, so I wanted to make sure that I had options, and we also have a whole armload of games to play together, which should be a TON of fun!! 😉

My goal this week is to relax and recoup my energy, nap often, take lots of walks with my sweetie and the girls, play at arting A LOT, and make sure to blog at least once every day, which means a trip into town every day, which we do anyway, Papa loves him some Starbuck’s – so I think I can be accommodating!! 😉

I think that just about covers anything, and this point if I have forgotten anything I am either going to have to without, or I am gonna have to go buy it at the coast!!

YEAH!! It’s time to go!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

Vacation!

Good evening!
Ok, so it is officially the first full day of my vacation isn’t going too well. It started off alright, matter of fact, I spent the ENTIRE morning in bed reading. I read the book The Power of Six (The Lorien Legacies), and it was really good!! When my sweetie finally got off of work, we got ready to go, and, well, long story short, our evening plans fell through so we decided to have a nice quiet evening out, just the two of us. Tonight Jason is out being a good friend, and I am just so ready to get out of town, and go hang out on the beach!

There is still so much to do before we actually head on Sunday morning, and to be honest with you, it is a little daunting, but I know that it will be worth it!

However, instead of dwelling on the fact that today didn’t go as planned, I thought I would share some pictures of one of the local antique/salvages stores I had gone to a while back! I have been saving these pics for just such an occasion!!

Enjoy!

I just love spending an afternoon looking at all sorts of interesting finds in architectural salvage shops, this place is no exception. I can’t remember the name of the place, but is a little place up in Aurora, Oregon.

My sweetie has just gotten home, so I am off to go spend some quality time with him before it is time for bed!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

The First Night of Our Vacation!

Good evening,

I would LOVE to tell you that I have all sorts of plans for the first couple days of my vacation, but if I was being honest – I got NOTHIN’!! I have a really hard time with vacations because I have a really difficult relaxing.

Ok, am I the only one?

I am so used to being a go-go-go kind of girl, so when I FINALLY give myself permission to take some time to rest, I have A REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard time actually doing it!! So, it always takes me a few days before I realize, OMG I am on VACATION!! So, I am not there ye,t, but I will be!!

Tomorrow, after having the alarm turned off, and hence giving myself the chance to sleep in,  I think I will take myself to a couple of the thrift stores around and see what treasures I can find for collaging; or maybe I will just stay home and spend some serious time arting – that would be SO FUN!!! 😉 Tomorrow evening, after my sweetie finally gets off work and he is able to join me on our vacation, and then we are going to go over to my bestie’s place and we are going to have  BBQ put on by the boys!! I hear we are having kabobs, which should be yummy!! GO BOYS!!

Then on Saturday, Jason and I are cleaning like fiends so that when we come back next week we come home to a clean house! Our friend, Don will be over one Sunday to house sit for us – thank you very much, Don! and then my sweetie and I are TOTALLY headed for the beach!! WHOO! HOO!!

On the artist front, I wanted to tell you that I have found the BEST collage book, and I really wanted to share it with you!! This book is called, Collage Discovery Workshop and is written by Claudine Hellmuth. This book has a bunch of great collage ideas, especially in techniques to not be paralyzed with fear at the prospect of staring at blank canvas, which can be daunting to any artist, especially a newbie like me!! I will have some pics of some of the new techniques that I have been trying tomorrow!!

So, on that note…

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Chunky Dunker Night!

Good evening!

Welcome to another week evening of the Chunky Dunker’s Group!

Chunky Dunkers is a weekly weight loss/get fit support group that meet here online every Wednesday evening to get the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

As always, everyone and anyone is welcome to join us, so please feel free to chime in on our conversation in the comment section above, or you are welcome to quietly follow along, whichever you prefer. I look forward to hearing about all of your successes!

This week, I thought I would just take a moment to remind yourself to be gentle with yourself. I know that as I have been personally struggling with this issue of weight loss and getting fit, I let my inner critic really get me down, and I have a tendency to believe the negative things that she has to say while she is berating me for not measuring up, or not making the goal, or not doing as much as someone else, and I realize that when I listen to her, it tends to make me feel worse, and not better. Which in turn causes me to do less of what I know I ought to be doing. So tonight, instead of going through a list of things to do, or not to do, I am just going to leave with you thins:

Dear Self,
Be gentle with yourself, you are a complicated being, and sometimes being out of shape is more about what else is going on in your life and not only what you are doing or not doing. Take time to listen to your needs, pamper yourself, and reward yourself in non-food ways when you have made even the smallest baby-step in the right direction. You are sooo worth it!!
Love,
Your Self!!

Keep that in mind as you go through this week! We are all rooting for you!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS week! 😉

Someone is Going Glamping!

Good evening!

Today I have been doing a lot of dreaming about our vacation that starts next week. My sweetie and I are going camping, no let me rephrase that, we are going “GLAMPING!”

Glamorous + Camping = GLAMPING!!

I have been checking out a lot of websites trying to decide what exactly that all entails, but I think I pretty much have it down. You see, my sweetie and I go “Glamping” almost every year since we’ve been married, we just never knew it!! Glamping is basically being out in nature, but not really “roughing” it at all, which is EXACTLY what I do, or don’t do!! When we go camping we sleep in a HUGE tent, have individual air mattresses so we can toss and turn and not worry about waking the other up, we bring hordes of pillows, feather comforters, fuzzy blankets, and high thread count sheet sets –

A GIRLS GOTTA SLEEP AFTER ALL!!! 😉

We stay at state run parks where there are full bathroom and shower accommodations (with hot water, thank you very much), and we are never more than 10 minutes away from town in case we want to do some shopping or want to eat to some food not prepared by us!

My husband and I LOVE LOVE LOVE our yearly outings just the two of us!! We also LOVE to bring our two four-legged “children” along so that they can have a week of pampering too (you know it can be rough being two ADORABLE little Chihuahuas!!)! During our time away, we are able to read, take the girls for walks, play card and board games, go shell-hunting on the beach, go antiquing, used booked store scavengering, take some time to do some writing, or just take naps at various times of the day without any sense of guilt!! One of my FAVORITE things about glamping is that I get to roast a marshmallow first thing every morning!!! It is a sneaky little pleasure that doesn’t cost a whole lot but ALWAYS helps make glamping feel like a super LUXURIOUS treat!!

This year, I have decided to do something a little different, and that is that my hubby and I are going to use this week out at the Oregon coast as a kind of an artist retreat!! My sweetie is working on writing a novel, and I am busy honing my arting skills – as you may already know! 😉 There will still be plenty of pampering, and NON-ROUGHING it going on, but with a focus on taking time out of the normal hub-bub-iness of our lives and just spending some quality time giving ourselves permission to just commune with God, listen to our inner-selves, and just create!

Doesn’t that just sound DIVINE???

I know my sweetie and I are going to have a BLAST, and I, for one, just can’t WAIT to head out!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!

Sunday Evening Post!

Good evening!

Before I get started I would love to hear what you think of my latest piece. It was good practice, and I can see what potential it has. I am very glad of that because I watched a video of an artist stating that it usually takes an artist a year or so to get good at their chosen craft. Which I am understanding because I am still in the really early stages of my art, and I am still trying to find my voice, and my style. I want what I create to be a representation of me, and I can admit I am not there yet.

So on to my update of today!

I have spent the majority of my day in my art studio creating as many soul collage cards as I could find photos for! I now have cards for:

  1. The Diva
  2. The Helper
  3. The Desirer
  4. The Carefree
  5. The Wisdom
  6. The Introvert
  7. The Creator
  8. The Sensualist
  9. The Vanity
  10. The Socialite
  11. The Materialist
  12. The Mother
  13. The Traveler
  14. The Child
  15. The Procrastinator
  16. The Growth
  17. The Naturalist
  18. The Wordsmith
  19. The Diseased
  20. The Lover
  21. The Loyalist
  22. The Family
  23. The Dreamer
  24. The Spiritualist
  25. The Eccentric
  26. The Lost but not Alone
  27. The Farmer
  28. The Actress
  29. The Entertainer
  30. The Protector
  31. The Homemaker
  32. The Relaxer
  33. The Player
  34. The Romantic
  35. The Observer
  36. The Mother
  37. The Curious
  38. The Authentic-Self

I may be completely addicted! Soul Cards are so much fun to make, and after you have spent all of this time making them, when you go back to try and “read” them to try and decide what part of you is being represented in these cards, it is quite PHENOMENAL because they are truly representation of a part of your authentic self.

Anyway, on to a different subject! I have literally on 4 more days until my sweetie and I have a TWO WEEK VACATION!! We CAN NOT WAIT!!! We are going to spend a week camping over at the coast, and then the next week we will spend a couple of days in Roseburg to visit with family, and the rest of the week we will be DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY home-homebodies!! Doesn’t that sound just DELIGHTFUL!??? I don’t remember having ever taken this much time off at one time – EVER!!!

OOOOH!! I CAN’T WAIT!! While I go off to dream of some more activities/outings I can do with my sweetie…

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Getting In Touch with the Inner Me!

Good evening!

I don’t know exactly where to start, but I had the opportunity to take a Soul Collage class and I am so VERY GRATEFUL that I did. First of all this class was given by the FABULOUSLY GRACIOUS Glenda Goodrich, AKA GG! This was a full class of  9 very different ladies, all different ages, coming from very different backgrounds, each with different life perspectives.

It is very difficult to describe this class; more something that you need to experience to really understand, but if I had to try and describe what it is to you I would have to say that this is a class that uses imagery to help you tap into your inner self to help you answer questions and guide you throughout your life. It is kind of like a process to help you build your own deck of personal cards to help you look at anything you have going on in your life with new eyes.

Here are the three cards that I had made, and what they symbolize to me, (please note: these images are not mine and may be subject to copyright laws):

This card represents to me Womanhood.

I Am One Who embodies happiness, wisdom of myself to come, am comfortable in my own skin, and able to live my life in my own way without worry about what others might think of me, while living generously, and with compassion for others .

This card represents Vanity:

I Am One Who looks through a skewed looking glass, I am my inner critic, constantly judging and critiquing and never quite feeling like I measure up, and reminding myself that I never will.

This picture represents Compassion:

I Am One Who loves boldly, deeply, richly, and with my full self. I am the nurturer, the comforter, the nurse, and the protector.

Are you still scratching your head? Well, I was confused too until I actually made a couple of cards, and then did a “reading” for myself using them. A reading is where you look at your card, and you tell yourself what you think your card is trying to “tell” you – AKA what was trying come through to you from your subconscious? During my self-reading of my first card I had quite the emotional breakthrough, which was embarrasing, but also quite surprising, in a very good way. Anyway, while I was describing what I felt my first  card was saying to me, and for some reason I realized that every quality that I have been so envious of in others were actually qualities that were already there in me, and I just needed a way to tap into those feelings. Well, I started crying and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish. Thankfully I did, but what I realized afterwards is that I was crying tears of amazement, happiness, and joy. Not what I expected to get out of just another art class. No, that is NOT what this class was.

I know I have said this before, but I just can not say it enough, I am so thankful that I was able to take this class. I highly recommend anyone interested in taking this class, to do so. For me it was eye-opening, and I believe will ultimately be life changing and healing for me. Soul Collage cards are a going to be a great resource for stopping and listening to what my authentic self is trying to say. What a GREAT and extremely helpful resource to add to my already growing artist repertoire.

GG, I know you didn’t invent the technique, but I thank you for being brave enough and generous enough to pass on the technique! I am grateful!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!

This card represents to me womanhood.

I Am One Who embodies happiness, wisdom of myself to come, am comfortable in my own skin, and able to live my life in my own way without worry about what others might think of me, while living generously, and with compassion for others .

A New Portrait!

Good evening!

I have spent some time in the art studio today doing some painting, and I have finished my next piece of art. This piece was inspired by a couple of things:

  1. I have always wanted to do a self portrait; it has been on My Life List since almost the time I started this list, back in 2004.
  2. I needed to give myself permission to do a piece of art that was for my eyes only – so to speak. Completely no pressure, with no thought of having to worry about trying to make something that would do well commercially.

I believe that I have done that. I captured a part of me that I sometimes forget is there, to me this painting represents a kind of strength that I am trying to get comfortable with tapping into. At least, I think I have caught that feeling, at least in spirit. I have NEVER drawn, or painted any faces of any kind before, matter-of-fact, the idea of trying to create faces in art really scare me. I am not exactly sure why but I feel it takes someone with real skill and talent to capture someone’s true likeness. There is an intimacy there that I do not yet have the talent to capture, not that I won’t have it someday, I am just humble enough to know that I do not have it now. 😉 With all of that said, I am very happy with this portrait, especially since it is my first attempt at one.

I would love to hear what you think of this piece; please feel free to enter your thoughts in the comments up above.

On to other news, I am very excited that there has been an opening in the art class that I was wanting to take, for tomorrow. They called me today to ask me if I was still interested in taking it,I immediately jumped at the chance, and said, “YES!” It is a collage class called, Soul Collage, and is taught by my friend Glenda Goodrich, AKA G.G. I will hopefully have something to show you from that class sometime this weekend!!

Anyway, I am going to get some class reading done this evening for Flying Lessons.

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

PS. Please feel free to share this post with your friends! 🙂

Motivational Quote of the Day!

Here is your motivational quote for today!

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
~Martha Graham

Have a FABULOUS afternoon!! ;-)

Getting Back to Art!

Good evening!

I have spent a portion of this evening getting back to the art! I have really been pressuring myself to do a great job, so needless to say, it really hasn’t been going too well! So, today, I came home from work early – I think I have a double ear infection – not fun, thank you very much!! Anyway, I spent a little time actually sitting in my art studio and actually painting, with no pressure, no real thinking other than just playing. That is the way it outta be. So, other than my ears still hurting, I am feeling pretty FAN-TAB-U-LOUS!!

Also, this evening my sis, and two of her kids came over this evening to go swimming with Jason. I had to miss out because of my ears, but before they went the kids had let me take pictures of them so that I can use their pictures later on to practice my drawing skills. I am teaching myself, for the most part! I thought I would share two of those pictures with you tonight!

This is my niece, Megan! She is my little girly-girl who is also very good at soccer! I am very proud of her, and she is absolutely beautiful!!! 😉  She was very patient with me and let me take something like 10 different pictures of her in different head tilts and angles!! She is going to be very fun to learn to draw with!

Here is my nephew, Morgan! He is so serious in this picture, as soon as I snapped this pic, he turns my camera to see the himself, and he says, “Did you get my muscles?” He is just soooo funny!! But I am so thankful that he was willing to hold still for a few minutes just so I could take his picture.  What an awesome kid!!

Before I leave for the evening, I just wanted to give a big thank you to my sweetie, who very patiently cut a bunch of wood (the pic at the top of this post is some of what he cut for me)  for me so that I have some practice canvases for my art. He is just so supportive, and I am still in awe that I am so lucky to have been gifted a man such as WONDERFUL as him!! Thank you, Baby!! I will work very hard to make you proud!!

Anyway, I should have some ACTUAL art to share you with you tomorrow, I can’t wait!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉