Love deeply. Laugh. Cry. Talk to God. Be realistic about the to-do list. Stay in touch. Hug. Dream. Smile. Break Bread often with Family. Spend Time with your Girlfriends. Shop til you Drop! Extend Grace. Be Quick to Forgive and Slow to Anger. Walk. Breathe. Sing. Dance. Read. Eat Chocolate. Savor a Good Glass of Wine. Wiggle your Toes. Sleep well. Life is Good!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Nourish your Soul!

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life. Jean Shinoda Bolen

Ah! My girlfriends and my art come to mind. Many of the girls I graduated high school with have recently reconnected thru Facebook and dinners and movies. What a joy! Though many years have passed and many events have taken place that molded and made us the women we are now, the laughter and personalities are still intact! We all lead busy, productive lives yet we make the time to get together as often as we can to catch up and encourage one another thru current happenings. Now, instead of crushes, sleepovers, and lunchtime gossip, it's marriage, divorce, children, grandchildren, aches and pains of aging, and ... still, sleepovers and dinnertime gossip!! LOL! Though, I must say, the gossip part has changed to a more "What's so-and-so up to these days" along with concern and joy and encouraging advice or words of wisdom and planning the next get-together! What a fun group of women to share popcorn, oh! and Butterfingers with! I can't end this paragraph without mentioning the many girlfriends I have in my neighborhood and otherwise. Sharing birthday lunches monthly and getting together at one another's homes to break bread, share a bottle of wine and giggle the night away! Also, the girls and friendships I've made on Facebook as well. I haven't met many of them personally, but we have bonded nonetheless. I think a FB Reunion is in the cards! It would be a "re" union cause we did afterall first "meet" on FB!! What a party it would be if we all converged in one place!

Another area I've made room for is my artwork. After being gently nudged...no, prodded! by my family to step out into the public eye three years ago, I have grown in so many ways. I'm not as shy as I used to be! I have a lot more courage than I used to have. I finally get it.....your friends aren't gonna dis-own you if you paint something they don't like. They may not hit the "like" button but they are still there to encourage you! And, wow! When they do hit the "like" button and say you blew their mind with that piece....well, just.... Wow! I've only recently come to realize how much I coveted responses from fellow artists too. I suppose that is my own personal measure of success. Though it shouldn't be the yardstick I gauge my work by. Perhaps that is the way in every profession ... approval/ acceptance/ recognition by those in the same field. I so need to get over that! After all, it is the purchase of a piece that ultimately brings personal rewards and recognition in my book! Not just the sales....but the joy that a piece of art brings into someones life. That probably sounds sappy, but I don't know how else to put it. I love interacting with my customers whether at art shows or on Facebook. To hear and read feedback and see a face light up along with a "I want this" and the piece finding a new home, makes it all so much more rewarding than a local write up in the paper would.

I'm glad I was nudged out of my comfort zone and have taken chances. I have already achieved a lot in a short period of time and still have a lot to learn. And, except for the aches and pains of aging, I'm lovin every minute of it! It truly does nourish my soul and bring joy to my life!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Get a Grip!

That's exactly what I've been trying to do!

Get a grip on my art business. The details that is. Some days it's more of a desk job than a joy. Keeping up with everything from bookkeeping and inventory, to where my art is outsourced and scheduled event and show applications. It never ends. The only real peace is sitting in my studio with the radio on painting. Balance. I must find some balance!

Get a grip on my health. Dealing with this B12 issue is driving me nuts. And now the herniated disc in my neck causing numbness and pain while pressing on my spinal cord. Surgery is elective at the moment. Hoping to keep it that way. Pile on the other physical challenges and it makes for a less than joyful day. But it is quite amazing how my 14 month old granbaby girl can help me relax and chill!

Get a grip on my diet and supplements. This kinda goes hand-in-hand with the aforementioned issue. However, it's not about weight loss (though that could be a grand side effect) as much as general health. Trying to figure out the foods and/or environmental triggers that bring about an inflammatory or autoimmune reaction. Just some more junk!

Get a grip on my filing. Paperwork is a necessary evil, in my humble opinion. I throw away most of the junk mail. But, you see..... I am an artist. I have to keep a certain amount of stuff!! I just do. It's not just the art paraphernalia, but household files, garden journals, vet records, medical records, birthdays and other events, appointments, schedules. Ugh. I'm a procrastinating perfectionist. Does that tell you anything?

Get a grip on my garden. I miss being outside sticking a shovel in the ground, turning the earth. Pulling weeds is therapeutic! I love color! Unfortunately the last couple of seasons a variety of stuff has blown in on the wind and taken root all over our yard. Some other invader has killed the Knock-Out Roses and the Indian Hawthorne. The trees need trimming so sunlight can hit the grass and make it plush once again. The raised bed garden needs to be sterilized and boosted for a new crop. The last one was a bust. A total bust. We hired a guy to come pull weeds and trim for three days. He's a hard worker. Worth his pay! I just wanna get out there and do it again. Another good reason to get a grip on this nerve pain and disc problem.

Get a grip on my art. I don't wanna be put in a box by choosing one particular medium or subject matter. I like variety and various styles, including watercolor, acrylic, oil, pastel, collage and assemblage. There is so much out there I want to try. I have my strengths and my weaknesses. Some mediums are more stressful or challenging than others. I don't want to be known as a Jack of all Trades/Master of None, but I do love a challenge.

Get a grip on the clutter. There is now a table full of photographs which were boxed up from what we could salvage from the Katrina flood. I pulled them outta the closet a month ago. There they are ... still! I'm also a chronic collector of dishes. Pretty serving pieces, pots & pans and stemware. I'm a addict really! They are everywhere! And ... I collect art. All kinds of art. Problem is, I've put it here and there between three or four locations and there's nowhere else for it! And then there's that linen closet and the guest room closet and a good part of the garage. It never ends! Downsizing is sounding good right about now!

Get a grip on all these ideas in my head! But that would require a notebook and another file folder to keep up with. Not a bad idea considering tomorrow I won't remember the details if I don't write it down now! Where's that pen of mine?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Joyful Reading!

This little read was a perfect start to my morning. Took me back to my "growing up" years and the words my mamma and gramma used to say. Those phrases stuck with me cause I used them with my own daughters and some nieces and nephews as well. Come to think of it .. even my daughters' friends! Reading this piece has rebirth a yearning to return to my own garden. I've missed digging and planting and growing the last few years since I've experienced back and neck pain and some nerve pain as well. So, I've had to hire others to do the grunt work for me as I direct them "dig a hole here and don't plant it too deep" while just hours before I was mulling over color combinations at the garden center.....and wondering the next day while driving around town where THAT bug came from!

Thank you Joy for sharing your daughter's writing with us on Facebook! You, my friend, truly live up to your name!!


Take some time to read this piece and peruse the site as well! Great way to start the day!

She Was Right About Some Things by Harper Woods
http://www.joyfulonline.net/nonfiction.htm

Friday, September 3, 2010

Plan B



What most fundamentally characterizes the well-adjusted, or highly sane person is not chiefly the particular habits or attitudes that he holds, but rather the deftness with which he modifies them in response to changing circumstances. ~ Wendell Johnson

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Keller Bug, almost 14 months old!

What a joy this child has been! Chasing me around the kitchen in her walker. Mocking everything we say! Giggles and kisses and patty cakes abound!

Some of the cute phrases we hear!
"naamaaa" (gramma)
"No"
"Memow" (Mickey Mouse)
"Bean Bean" (green bean)
"Weeee" (when she sees her wagon!)
"Hey Bo" (the dog)
"Ehmo" (Elmo)
"Poooweee" (guess!)