Good afternoon!
Here is your motivational quote for today!
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.“
~Theodore Geisel
Have a FABULOUS afternoon!! 
Good evening!
I thought I would just quickly post my next collage project! After taking a picture of it, I realize there is still some work to do on it, but it was good to be able to look at it from a different perspective.
What do you think?
I have an idea on what I am going to add to this tomorrow!! 😉
Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉
Good afternoon!
Here is your motivational quote for today!
“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”
~Oscar Wilde
Have a FABULOUS afternoon!!
Good morning!!
As I have been promising, today I wanted to tell you about what an AMAZING time I had with my love out on Friday night!! Before I do that, let me tell you a little bit of back story! My sweetie and I met when we were 18, and married 8 months later! It was a passionate romance that has lasted much longer than anyone ever expected, and is still going strong today!!
Jason and I are almost exact opposites!! He is casual, laid back, spontaneous, and I am uptight, worrisome, and a planner since way back!! Well, we complement each other in most every way, and that is why we work so well together!! He reminds me how to be a kid, and I remind him how to be a grown up!! LOL!! It just works, and I am just coo-coo for this man of mine!! To say the VERY LEAST!
Well, as I have been going through my Artist Way journey for the past 6 weeks, I have been unknowingly changing at warp speed, and I hadn’t realized how that was affecting Jason. He, ever my biggest cheerleader and supporter, decided that he would surprise me with a date for Friday night. Now Jason almost NEVER plans A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!! Matter of fact, his favorite line is, “honey, what are we doing today” because he just KNOWS that I plan E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!! He informed me on Tuesday morning that we were going to have a date on Friday night, but it was going to be a surprise, and he would take care of everything. I was skeptical, but also excited to see that he had finally planned a real date – you see in 16 years of marriage, there may have been one, or two times TOTAL that he has ever planned a date. He is more of a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of guy, and that means that we may go out to eat, or to the movies, but it doesn’t get too much fancier then that unless I am taking care of all of the arrangements!
Well, this past Friday was our date night, and to say that he dazzled me may be a HUGE understatement!! He had been giving me little hints all week, because as you can imagine, I was freaking out about where are we going? What is he going to make me do? Who are we going to be with? etc. etc. (at 35 years old, I realize that I may not like surprises!)
I met him at the house, he looked GREAT, and smelled EVEN BETTER!! I LOVE THAT!!! and we left for our date!! The first place we stopped was Bentley’s for a FABULOUS dinner!! I had the roasted chicken, and had a spicy red snapper!! He is so much fun to hang out with and just talk about all sorts of anything!!
We had some time before our next appointment, and Jason took me over to Startbucks to grab something caffeinated, since he knew I normally go to bed so early, and he didn’t want me to miss anything of the next activity he had planned!! We sat at Starbuck’s for a while, chatting with each other, and also with a young girl who was there who was apparently a Harry Potter fanatic, so we got to talk books!! Something else that I really LOVE!!!
Well, we were again on our way. We were heading to the Pentacle Theater, and I had heard a lot of great things about it, but never really had the chance to go there myself until this night! What I did know was that the Pentacle Theater is a small company who put on productions of various plays. Well, was I in for a big surprise!
When we got there, the surroundings were BEAUTIFUL!! The Pentacle Theater is tucked back into a woodland forrest, and everything around is green, mossy, and smells perfectly of Oregon!! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was sure getting excited about what was to come. The play that we were going to be watching was Educating Rita, something I had never heard of before this evening, and it was PHENOMENAL, to say the ABSOLUTE LEAST!!!
This play is a comedy about two people, a university professor, Frank, with a growing drinking problem, and a student, Rita, who comes from a undereducated background but wants Frank to teach her about “EVERYTHING”!!! To watch these two actors, one of whom Jason knows personally, was mesmerizing. I have never seen a play in such close quarters, seeing that it was just a small building we were all nestled in. The actors WERE the characters, so it was so easy to fall into the story!! You could literally see the transformation that each of the two characters were going through with Frank and his drinking becoming more and more of a problem as his love for Rita grows, but she is also growing away from him as she discovers more of the world. You watch Rita grow and change from an ignorant girl who wants to know everything into a sophisticated, educated, and elegant woman whose eyes have been opened to the entire world around her by her professor who she adores, but no longer relies on for her self worth.
During the opening monologue, Professor Frank, played by Michael Swanson, one of Jason’s personal friends, was basically telling us the rules for the theater, while in character, and we were his students in his classroom. He singled out a couple of people in the audience to give specific instructions to, and Jason was one of them!! It was so funny!! and Jason was just tickled!! The whole rest of the evening, Jason just kept saying, “I can’t believe he said my name!!” “Wasn’t that cool?? He said my name!!!” LOL!! 😉
It was a truly MAGICAL night!! Jason had really outdone himself! TRULY!! He has unknowingly helped expand my creative world, and I bet you he doesn’t even realize it!! 😉
We have decided to make the commitment to not only start donating to Pentacle Theater, but we are also going to be attending every production from now on! Jason has even decided that he is going to go back and look into volunteering there, which I think will be EXTREMELY good for him!! He has ALWAYS been such a HELPER!! 😉 I am so proud of him! and so thankful that God has blessed me by placing Jason my life!!! I didn’t realize that when I had started the Artist’s Way, that it might just be changing Jason a little too!!
I love you, Baby-Jay, and I truly, truly thank your for this SPECTACULAR evening that you had so seemlessly put together for us!! You have KNOCKED my BOBBY-SOCKS OFF and I love you EVEN MORE for it!!! I hope to return that favor for you someday soon!! 😉
Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉
Good evening!
I have had the most MAGICAL weekend, and it is still only Saturday!! I want to tell you all about my LOVELY evening with my sweetie last night, but I have decided, with his blessing, to save that story for tomorrow!!
You see, today I had a FANTASTIC mixed media collage artist class that I just couldn’t wait to share all about with you! I also know that all of the ladies from the class will be looking for the pics of their art projects too, so I wanted to make sure that I was able to get these up and out there into the universe so that our momentum would not die down!!
You see, I had heard about this class a few weeks ago, which I told you about earlier, but money was tight and I was thinking that I was not going to be able to make it! Well, when the class got closer, I was trying to think of everything and anything that might give me reason not to go!! You see, I was letting my inner critic get the better of me, and I was chickening out!!! Thankfully, my sweetie came to my rescue, told me to go to the class, and next thing I know it is 11 PM the NIGHT BEFORE class, and I am online searching for the Keizer Art Association online and I signed up for today’s Collage Play class!! WHEW!!! 😉
I wasn’t sure what to expect, seeing that I have never done collage before, but on my way to class I was getting more and more excited and couldn’t wait to get started! The class was being taught by Salem artists Linda West and Glenda Goodrich AKA “GG”!! I was the first one at class, like usual, and they were there smiling, and extremely friendly! I was still pretty nervous, as I have a tendency to be in these situations, but they were ABSOLUTELY WELCOMING!!
After every one arrived, they opened the class with GG taking us through a guided meditation, and it definitely set the right tone for the day!! This rang especially true for me, when she told us to tell our little inner critic that they could go find a nice shady place and go take a nap for the day!!!
The whole idea for this class was that we were going to play, and create mixed media collages using decorative and handmade papers, paints, ephemera, ink, all sorts of baubles, trinkets, ribbons, buttons, beads and ANYTHING ELSE WE COULD GET OUR HANDS ON, quite frankly!! 😉 It was as if someone had walked right into my crazy filled to the brim craft room, and told me that I WAS NORMAL!!! 😉
These were some of my supplies! 😉
We had such a GREAT time!! They only rule was, was that there really were no rules except that we had to leave our inner critic at the door!!!
Both Linda and GG demo’ed all sorts of hints, tips, and new techniques!! and all of us ladies had fun ripping, and gluing, and glittering, and laughing as the day seemed to literally FLY by!!! There were 5 students in the class, and both instructors got to make some collages too!! I was ABSOLUTELY IN AWE of the AMAZING talent that was in that room!!
Before the day was over everyone had made all sorts of treasures!! So much so that we could have opened a gallery! We were really all quite thrilled at not only how much we had made, but at how good all of the pieces turned out to be!! There really was some INCREDIBLY talented women in that room!!! 😉
Everyone’s tastes and working styles were so different, but it was agreed by all that everyone that it was fun spending the day creating with other creative spirits!! I know for myself, it was quite the change from crafting by yourself!! There is something absolutely electric in the room, when you are all using your creative energy!! I think it was GG that mentioned that her and Linda have a once a month craft day where they get together and spend the day crafting! I told them that I was going to have to borrow that idea, because I think that if I am wanting someone to craft with their HAS to be SOMEONE out there who would want to craft WITH SOMEONE too???
Here is a Show-and-Tell of everyone’s handiwork!!
This is Maggie and her lovely artwork! She was inspired by some FABULOUS quotes that she had found!
This is Terri and her lovely artwork! She was inspired by this stone that one of her girlfriends had given to her. There is a shape of a tree in it’s markings!
This is Julie and her lovely artwork! She was inspired by her extremely supportive husband!
This is Vickie and her lovely artwork! She was inspired by her recent trip to Hawaii!
This is one of our lovely instructor’s Linda, and she was inspired by the neutral pack of supplies that she had gotten to create this first piece of art, and her second piece was inspired by her niece, who’s birthday is coming up!
This is our other lovely instructor, GG, and her art work was inspired by the nature theme of supplies that she had chosen and the 3D bird that she fell in love with that Linda had created that was also came out of her pack!
Here are my two art pieces. These were inspired by my love of all things red, and some of the great images that I found that I thought represented me and my journey to rediscover my creative self.
This class was such an AMAZING experience! I know I must be saying it over and over again, but it is ABSOLUTELY true!! It was so great to be in a class that was so freeing and open, and to be able to play again as if were all little girls back in kindergarten was pretty special!! I think the thought that summed up the entire day perfectly, which was said by Maggie, was,
“Art isn’t always well behaved!”
What a GREAT quote, and one that I am learning to hang my hat upon!!! Thank you, ladies!! I had such a good time “playing” with you today! I hope that we get the chance again in the near future!!!
Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉
Good afternoon!
Here is your motivational quote for today!
“So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”
~Brenda Ueland
Have a FABULOUS afternoon!!
Good afternoon!
Here is your motivational quote for today!
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
~Pablo Picasso
Have a FABULOUS afternoon!!
Good evening!
Tonight was my belly dancing class, just in case you have been hiding someplace and hadn’t heard me say it for the umpteenth time!!
BELLY DANCING THURSDAYS!!!
WHOO! HOO!!
Hee! Hee!! Hoo!! Hee! Hee!! Hoo!!
Ok, I have gotten myself back under control!! 😉
Tonight I wanted to share a bunch of pics that I took this morning while I was taking a walk to go into the office. It was very cold here, and foggy, and I thought that the world seemed very ethereal and magical this morning with all of the hazy fog. So, I took some time just finding some shots that I thought were BEAUTIFUL! I would love to hear your thoughts about them!!
Ok, onto my class this evening. When I started this belly dancing class about a month ago, there were 5 of us, then we became 6 for a couple of weeks, last week we dropped to 4, and I am not sure what happened this week, but there were only 2 of us there, and the other lady had to leave early! BUMMER!!
BUT TO MY SURPRISE! I got to have about a 20 minute private lesson with the dance instructor and one of the students from the advanced class! That was really awesome, and that means that I know some dance moves that everyone else doesn’t!! YEAH!!!
HOWEVER!!! There are two moves that I am going to have to really practice on! They are both spinning moves and you do this thing with one of your feet that you do a 180 degree turn, and let me tell you MAMMA IS GONNA HAVETA FIGURE OUT TO SPIN THIS SHIP IN A SPLIT SECOND!!! SHEESH!! Let’s just say it is going to take me some practice, and maybe some slippy socks!!! LOL!! 😉
I can’t say it enough! I truly LOVE this class, I look forward to it all week!! It is exhausting and energizing all at the same time! I am becoming better coordinated, balanced, and graceful, three things I thought could never be associated with me, and through lots of practice, I am getting better, and better, a little every week!!
While I was waiting for the instructor to get there, I was sitting out in the waiting area with a tall, graceful woman, who looked to be in about her 80’s. She was VERY OBVIOUSLY a dancer, with a dancer’s body and a dancer’s posture! So I got to talking to her, asking her questions, like I have a tendency to do, and I found out that she has been dancing since she was 6, she has 4 dance instructors because no one can keep up with her, and she tells me,
“I can’t help it, when my feet hear the music, they just can’t hold still, so I have no other choice but to get up and let them dance!”
She was right, not 5 minutes later, there was a private lesson going on in the next room, and the music started playing. She got up to watch, and before you know it she was dancing all around the waiting room, and down the hall! It was actually quite beautiful and made me smile all the way down to my liver. 😉
I pray that when I am 80 something, I am able to say,
“I can’t help it, when my feet hear the music, they just can’t hold still, so I have no other choice but to get up and let them dance!”
If only we were all so lucky to find a physical activity that gave them this much joy and pleasure!! I am truly blessed!
Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉
Good afternoon!
Here is your motivational quote for today!
“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”
~Stephen Nachmanovitch
Have a FABULOUS afternoon!!
Good evening!
Welcome to week 11, of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!! Welcome back to those who join us every week, including those of your who silently follow us, and welcome to those who may be new to my blog this evening. I am happy to say, that after last week’s slight hiatus, we are no back on with our regular weekly meeting.
Every week I post a new Chunky Dunker’s article ever Wednesday evening, and you have 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!!
Tonight’s topic: Cleaning Out the Kitchen!
There is something that I am sure a lot of you have already done, me?? Well, apparently I am having a tendency to do some of my fitness tasks a little out of order. This week for our house is a week of getting out kitchen ready for fitness, which means we need a Major Kitchen Cleanup STAT!!! That means, throwing out the junk food (sugary, processed, chemical-laden, energy sucking food) and replacing it with healthy substitutes (whole, once alive, colorful, energy giving foods).
So for our kitchen that looks something like this:
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Now, I realize that that is easier said than done, but I have to tell you that the man that I have been married to for almost 17 years, the man I love, the meat and potatoes man made me the MOST DIVINE vegetarian dinner this week, and I WAS SHOCKED!! It was light, delicious, filling, and we both commented on how GREAT we felt after we had finished eating it!! Not only were we not overly full, we felt good about having made such a healthy choice! I want to have more nights like that!!
And knowing that Jason has lost about 6 pounds, and I am down a little over a pound from last week, I have to say that we must be starting to doing SOMETHING right!!! 😉
So, in the comments section tonight tell me how you are doing, but also what changes you have made in your kitchen to help make your fitness goals easier!!
I am rooting for you!!
Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉
