Tag Archives: Change

Spiraling! Spiraling!

A chain on a black background breaks

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

Okay, so here goes. Forewarning, I am keeping it real!

I am not doing so hot.

I am not sure if it is just that I am highly sensitive and there is not enough alone time, out in naturetime, quality time with the hubby, if living on east coast time while living on the west coast is becoming too much, or if there really is just too much going on in this girls life for her to handle.

I feel like I am spiraling the drain.

I am tired.

I am burnt out.

I feel completely and totally disconnected.

These are all things that my inner Chrissie is non too happy about!

I have learned long ago that there will be no one to come and rescue me, or save me, that if I want to fix what is going on, I have to take action and make the necessary changes happen. As much as I think I love change, the freshness, the newness, and the excitement that change can bring,

I am also quite scared of it.

I never want to hurt or disappoint anyone, but what I am learning is that you can’t live your authentic life without disappointing someone.

I know the change I need to make, a couple of them actually. I am not going to speak them aloud out here, I want the people affected to know first hand. These changes are big, life-upheaveal kind of changes, and if I am honest, VERY SCARY changes. and if you were looking in on my life, through a window, they might seem like, “WTF” kind of changes, but I have learned something else throughout this past year…

To live authentically, you have to live radically, and unapologetically.

You don’t ask for permission, you give notice.

(Thank you, Miss Lisa Nichols, for those lessons!)

For my sanity’s sake, and for my mental health’s sake, it is time to stop apologizing, give notice, and make the damn change already.

Yeah, that feels like it is Brave Girl Panty worthy!! 🙂

Here is to a Brave Girl Panty kind of day!

 

New Website!

Crown

Good evening!

I am so happy to report that my new website is now up and running!!!

YEAH!!!

I can honestly tell that I have had to learn this whole website building thing as fast as inhumanly possibly, and that little adventure was not without it periods (multiple) of crying, cussing, and throwing my hands up and seriously considering quitting the whole darn venture!!

BUT NO!!!!

I have beat the stupid thing called technology!!

WHAH-HOO!!! and a HELL-YEAH!!! 🙂

Anyway, I have been actively making some behind the scenes changes to make things more user friendly around here, as well as setting Beautiful Creatives up for future growth.

My dream is that Beautiful Creatives becomes a place where you can come for advice and resources for all things pertaining to getting unstuck and living the juiciest life possible. I also want to make sure I have an undercurrent of all things creative: art journaling, mixed media, creating every day. I want to do this because I believe that when you tap into your creative brain, you clear the way to hear your soul and the Universe speak to you, and I am a firm believer that THAT is when MAGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS can happen! 🙂

If this sounds intriguing to you, and like something that you would like to be a part of, or at least you’d like to hear more of, please take a moment to join our mailing list. There is a sign up form on the right hand side of your screen! I promise you will not be sorry!! 🙂

More GOODNESS to come!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 🙂

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

 

 

 

Art Journal Video #14

Good afternoon!

I am happy to announce that my latest Art Journal Thursday Video is post up on YouTube! Yeah!

The supplies I used were:

  • #2 pencil
  • Tim Holtz Distress Stain: Old Paper
  • Daler Rowney Simply Acrylic: Brown
  • Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint: Napthol Crimson, Maple Sugar Tan
  • Art Advantage Acrylic: Mars Black
  • Apple Barrel Gloss Acrylic Paint: White
  • Book pages
  • Distress Ink Pad: Forest Moss
  • Stamper’s Anonymous Stamp: Handwriting from the Reflection set CMS111
  • Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue
  • Stabilo All Pencils: Black, Brown
  • Black Uni-Ball Signo 207 Pen

DSC06460For those of you who had watched last week’s video, you might remember that I was really struggling to get a door onto my spread. After changing my mind last week, and coming up with something completely different, that I happened to have LOVED, I thought I was just going to leave it at that and do something different today too. But that door was nagging me, so I decided I would just buckle down and create my door this week!

DSC06467I decided it was time to get brave and let my inner kindergartner come out and play. I gave her full reign on what the spread would look like and what materials she could use!! The sky was the limit!

DSC06469Although my spread wasn’t very earth shattering, materials or techniques-wise, I was still pretty proud of myself that I did it!

DSC06474Also, I have learned this week that art has a tendency to go through an “ugly phase”, and I have to confess, this spread was no different! The key to the “ugly phase” is that you need to just push through it, and let it all finish coming together!

DSC06477When I had gotten to the point where I was painting the stairs, I had a moment of, “What the heck am I doing??? I am such a fraud! This page is HORRIBLE!!! I can not believe that I am trying this for the first time on camera!!! Have I lost my EVER-LOVIN’-Mind???” Yes, true story!

I am glad I pushed through because, even though this is not my favorite spread, and it is COMPLETELY different than what I normally do, I ended up having a real fondness for it! 😉

What do you think? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this week’s art spread!! 🙂

Also, if you have any ideas, or techniques that you might like to see me try in one of my future layouts, please let me know in the comment section and I will see what I can do to be accommodating! Also, I really do LOVE answering any questions you may have about art journaling, mixed-media, or anything you might have seen me do here! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I will try and get back to you in a timely manner!!

Until next time!

Here is to a BEAUTIFUL Creative life! 😉

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If you want a different life, live differently!

A Change Is In the Air!

Good afternoon!

A change is in the air, no scratch that – there are NUMEROUS changes in the air for 2014!!

I have been giving this a lot of thought over the past few months and I realize that there are some serious changes going to be happening in my life over this next year. I can’t discuss them all here because, well, some of them have to be handled very delicately, but I know they are a-coming!! 🙂

Someone, just last week, told me that it was up to me to choose to be happy. For the most part I do agree with that statement, but for some reason it really kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Just because you are unhappy doesn’t mean that you are doing a bad job of not choosing to be happy, because, believe you me, I have tried to put every positive thinking kind of spin on what I have been dealing with as possible, but sometimes being happy means not staying where you are.

My husband, who sometimes has the funniest way of putting things into perspective for me, said this,

“When you are standing in a pit getting urinated on from above, you can smile and convince yourself that it is just fresh Spring water, but the reality is you’re still getting peed on!”

LOL!! Yes, I absolutely understand what he is saying!!! 🙂

So, I know that this year will be the year that my sweetie and I will be packing up and moving on in a lot of areas of our lives. It is our job to choose to be happy, but to do that we also have to choose where we live, work, play, who we live, work, and play with, and how we live work, and play! I know that these changes are going to be so fruitful, and such a LOT of HARD WORK, but I know that when I look back on the choices that I make, I will be able to do so without regrets.

May we make our choices wisely, without any malice in our hearts, without fear slowing us down, and without worrying about what others may say about any of our choices!

Here is to what is to come in 2014!

To a FABULOUS 2014! 🙂

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

Dealing with Change!

Good evening!

It has been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would spend some time this evening letting you know how things are going!

Since last we spoke, I have gotten on some much needed anti-anxiety/depression medication, and I must admit, for the first week or two, I was pleasantly pleased by how much better I felt. Not too long after starting these new medications I had some huge changes announced in my work life that neither myself nor my team had any control, input, or say over, and whether we liked it or not the changes were happening and they were going to happen in a very short amount of time. The changes have already started to take place, and to say that I am not dealing well is a HUGE understatement!

I have always prided myself on being an advocate for change, and I am always on the lookout for how to make things better, so I am not sure why I am struggling so badly now. I took a mental health day today – I was literally up all night stressing over what is going on at work – so I knew I needed to take some time to make my health a priority and get some much needed sleep. I really did have the best of intentions, but as soon as my sweetie left to go to work this morning, which was only about an hour after I had finally fallen to sleep, I was back up and just freaking about all of these changes at work that has just left me feeling so powerless and unimportant. I literally planted myself on my couch, with my two four-legged girls, and hung out under a blanket while giving my NetFlix account a workout!!

As soon as my sweetie found out that that is how I had been spending my day, and that my “meals” today consisted of some bread and peanuts, he scheduled an intervention, and told me to be dressed and ready to go out by 3, because “We are getting you out of the house!”

My sweetie, who is my Rock of Gibraltar, picked me up and took me downtown, on what he was calling a de-stressing date. He made sure that I took my new camera with us so that I can take pictures of anything that inspired me. He also declared himself my “sexy photographer’s assistant”, which is SOOOOOOO true! I am one lucky girl!! We had so much fun spending time just brainstorming what our next steps will be, even going through worse case scenarios, where he helped me see that even that wasn’t as bad as what I had made it out to be in my head. He convinced me that we really will make it through all of this, and we will do it together – see I told you I was a lucky girl!! I took a bunch of pics while my sweetie kept me laughing, and he even patiently stayed with me while I visited one of my favorite craft stores for a few new art supplies (as if I really needed any more) 🙂 Then he took me to one of our favorite restaurants where we were able to share a really delicious steak dinner, which was quite scrum-diddly-umptious, if I do say so myself!!!

We are now home, and I am seriously tired, and am wondering if 7:30 is too early to go to bed?? No worries! I am already in my pj’s, listening to some happy music and am ready to have a quiet evening truly relaxing at home! and even though I know that I am going to have to make some difficult decision over the next couple of months, tonight, at this moment, I am going to seriously be thankful for all that I do have. As my sister, Alex would remind me, “I am blessed. I am loved.” Yes, sissy, I am.

Here is to a much needed restful evening! 😉

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

Time for a Change!

CrownGood morning!

I am not sure if you have noticed, maybe you have, but I really haven’t been blogging here as much as I used to.

I started ChristinaVille on April 4th, 2010, can you believe it has really been that long? My intention for starting ChristinaVille was to have an outlet to share my day-to-day ramblings with whomever would listen. I didn’t really have any other goal outside of my own personal wishes, and in the last few months, I have been really convicted that I need to be blogging, not just for myself, but for others. I am a firm believer that we are here to learn from each others experiences. I have been having a hard time with the fact that my blog name is ChristinaVille. I know, silly right? but hear me out – ChristinaVille is a monicker my family gave to me a long time ago because I always want things done my way; I guess it is the plight of being born the oldest to 5 girls. Evens though I still struggle with wanting things done my way a lot of the time, I want my message to encompass more than me.

More than anything I want to help women realize that their wildest dreams can come true, and they can truly have the life that they desire. To help make that happen, I have decided that I will no longer be updating ChristinaVille, and have started a new blog called This Artsy Life. I will however, keep ChristinaVille up on the internet so all of the many hundreds of posts that I have written thus far will continue to be available to anyone interested in reading them.

My goal at This Artsy Life is to create a space where women can find resources, and encouragement to go after their dreams, while living a creative, art-filled life. It will be an evolving process, and even as I speak about it now, I am not sure how I will make it happen, but I know in my soul that this is the next step in my evolution. It is my job to be brave and take it.

Starting over is scary, but I think that having a clean slate is going to be exactly what I need to get from where I am to where I want to be.

I would be so honored if you would join me there, and subscribe to This Artsy Life. I know that I still have a lot more to share in my life, and I would LOVE for you to be a part of my journey!

Thank you so much for so many FABULOUS days! Here is to many, many more!! 😉

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

Chunky Dunkers!

Good evening!

Tonight is Chunky Dunker night, an online fitness/weight loss support group. We are always happy to have visitors so please feel free to stop by the comments section and let us know how you are doing with you weight loss/fitness goals, and please feel free to share any hints/tips/ideas that you have found helpful in getting closer to your goals!! The more the merrier!!

I have done pretty well this week. I am down a little over a pound since last week, and honestly, right now – every little bit counts!!

Anyway, this week’s topic is: Trying Something New!

This may be more of a lesson that I am personally needing in my life right now, but it is still a lesson that I think we can all learn from. Be brave! Try something new! Just for the sake of doing something new!

Come on peeps, WE CAN DO IT!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! ;-)

A Thankful Friday!

Good evening!

I am sorry I am getting around to posting so late, but I have busily, and happily “arting” as we now call my art studio time in my house!! I have made quite the mess this evening, and I am going to have to make sure it all gets cleaned up before I go to bed this evening, otherwise, I will have some difficulty doing my morning pages in the morning, if there is no room at the inn, so to speak!!

Jason is still away, camping with the guys, and I am sure that they must be having a lot of fun!! He will be back sometime tomorrow, in the meantime I am just busy toodling around then house, running errands, and “arting” my life away!! I just LOVE that!! You know, arting, as in to art!?!

Anyway, we have had some questions in my department at work about our organization structure, teams, and who is going to land where doing what. Well, this morning was the meeting where we all FINALLY found out what was going on, and to sum it up, the CIO said, that “Most everyone has had their cheese moved”, and when he put up the org chart – he wasn’t kidding!! We are almost all moved around! My team has been split and I am moving, along with two other of my teammates, to another team! Whew!! I think, after thinking about it all day, that these are going to be good changes, and no matter what happens God always puts me where he wants me!! So, I am not going to worry about it, and continue to do my best, WHEREVER THEY WANT ME!! 😉

Let’s see, what else? Oh, my morning pages! I realized this morning that I have been doing morning pages for 11 weeks!! it feels like I just started doing them yesterday! So, what that means is that week 12 is my last week in this journal, which I will have COMPLETELY FILLED UP! (one of my life list goals) YEAH!! and I will have finished going through the entire Artist’s Way program!! I have the 2nd book ready, of the 3 book series, and I have another journal already on standby for being able to continue charting my course!!

I am so absolutely lucky to have stumbled on that morning pages book on the clearance rack, and for having a sissy who so very graciously, not only sought it out, but found, purchased, and sent me a copy of the Artist Way book in the mail!!!

WOW!!

WHAT A LUCKY GIRL I AM!!! 😉

Anyway, on that note, and the fact that my puppies are ready for bed, my little fat one is on the floor snoring at my feet even as I speak!!! It is time for me to call it a night!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Week of Prepping for Changes!

Good evening!

I have just gotten home from work, and I have to tell you I have had a pretty good day! Busy, but very good!! You see, one of my very dear friends is joining my team next week, and the team is just soooo excited to have her start!!! She is just such a sweetheart, but she is also a self-starting, hard worker and she is going to be such a to our team!!!

To get ready for her arrival, my work partner and I have been putting together a task list, and cleaning up some otherwise confusing processes so that when we teach her how to use the tools that we utilize, it will be as least-confusing as possible!! So, that has take some time and attention, and I am sure I will spending more time on that for the next couple of days!! but it will be sooooo worth it!! 😉

Then that leads us to the biggest “change” for our team that may be coming up within the next couple of months, and that is that we may be relocating to a different floor of our building. There are a lot of pros and cons to the move, but I am always an advocate for change of scenery. But, I must tell you, my co-worker and I have been really spoiled by our current work spaces. We have GINORMOUS windows with the most BEAUTIFUL view! If we open our windows, we can hear the creek burbling by down below. There is a large tree, with birds and squirrels always stopping by and peering in. We also have the best view, in the entire building to the helicopter landing pad on top of the main hospital tower, so we can see every helicopter coming and going without fail!! So that will be sad. BOO! But, it will be nice to have the whole team together, however many we may end up as. So, we will see!!

Jason just stopped and told me about something that happened at the post office today. He said there was a little old lady who had walked into the post office, walked past the looong line of already waiting customers and said to the postal worker that she didn’t have time to wait in line, and handed her slip of paper to the gentleman. Apparently some other little old lady in the line took great offense at her audacity and started to wield her umbrella at the impatient customer. Jason said, he kinda got excited that there was gonna be a little old lady smack down, right in front of him. Well, thankfully, the postal worker was able to diffuse the situation, and all was well with the world. My hubby said he was kinda bummed not to see the grannies fight, but he was glad that no one was hurt. I am not sure how I feel about this story. A part of me wants to laugh, and another is just thinking “MEN!!!” What do you think???

Alright, well my sweetie almost has dinner ready so I am going to lend a helping hand!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

Note to Chunky Dunkers: It is not too late to get some more beneficial exercise in before your weigh-in on Wednesday!!! Every minute counts towards your goal of fitness!! I am rooting for you, even from afar! GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!! 😉