My Philosophy

So, I had a great conversation with my friend Dawn yesterday afternoon about . . . life. As with any conversation about life . . . it was a long one. And as I started to delve into my personal philosophy, I began to think that this would make a good blog post.

So, here goes it.

Before we begin, I should say that Dawn is a pretty cool person. I've known of her for years, but only recently began talking to her on a more regular basis. She has a great energy that is very motivating, so conversations with Dawn usually leave me feeling quite up beat. Dawn is a single mom, raising two great kids. She has spent the past 10 years (at least) holding various roles with home demonstration companies (direct sales), and most recently began taking bigger steps in leadership programs. I believe her long term goal is to begin some sort of life coaching and leadership company (which I can easily see her doing). While we were talking, Dawn mentioned how she sees such a need for stronger mentors for women in their 20's, and how she sees a big gap in this area.

I told her that I didn't need a mentor in my 20's. Well, let me rephrase that. It's not that I didn't need  mentor in my 20's. I probably didn't think I needed one.

Here is My Philosophy on three decades in this life I am living so far . . .

In my 20's, I knew it all. I knew where I was going. I knew how I was going to get there. And no body could tell me any different. My teachers were unrealistic. My boss was stupid. My parents didn't have a clue about life. My friends . . . well, in my 20's, they were probably the only ones who I thought had any idea about what I was going through. . . my friends, that is, and Oprah. Because in my 20's, Oprah knew it ALL. Yes . . . that was in my 20's. Those sure were the days.

In my 30's, I was surviving all the decisions and things I did in my 20's. By this time, I realized that my boss had a direct connection to my bank account (no happy boss = no happy pay day.) And my Mom became "Mommy" again, as buying a home and having children made frequent calls to my parents more prevalent. In the 30's, the fact that Oprah knew it ALL started to annoy me. Yes . . . that was in my 30's. Those were the days.

Now, I am in my 40's, and I want desperately to find out who I really am. In my 40's, all of the things that I thought were important in my 20's and 30's just don't matter anymore. So many of the dreams I had back in my 20's mean nothing . . . the dream house, the dream car, the clothes, the trips . . . all materialistic propaganda that really have little to do with my spirit or the person I am today. I'd give anything to sit and talk to the teacher I dismissed in my 20's, for I am certain there is much I could learn from them. And I find I am far less concerned with where I am going and much more content with where I am right now in life. Yes. My 40's. These are the days.

It's interesting to look back on the past 20 years and see how much I've changed and how my out look on life has changed. I wonder what you'd see if you thought about your life.

Oh, and here's a little quote . . . from Ms. Winfrey herself. (I thought it would be fitting . . . ) ;)

Darn . . . she's pretty good, eh?

Wishing you Peace, my friends.

A Return of the Magnificent Monday VLOG (#10)

WELCOME BACK, my friends!

And WELCOME to the return of my

Magnificent Monday Vlog!

Grab your coffee, pull up a chair, and sit down for installment #10 of our joyeous girl talk!
I think I created a major fashion faux pas . . .
I am wearing the same shirt that I wore in our LAST vlog, back on December 12, 2011.

FOR SHAME!!!

Note to self: do not wear repeat clothing on blog.
It makes it look like your clothing budget is really really small for your vlogs.

;)  

I'm so glad you are here . . . enjoy!

Textured Words

I found my way out of my gloomy creative-less state this week, and I think I'm really onto to something cool here. It all surrounds . . . Words. OUR words. Our Words for 2012.

I've spoken before about how important this whole "Word of the Year" idea is to me. It has kept me focused on things that I need to be focused on for many years now, and this year is certainly no different. I knew that I wanted to celebrate my word with a special piece of art, and I knew that I wanted to do the same for some very dear people in my life.

So, if you remember . . . it started with a trip to the local home improvement store for some letters. You may remember I shared this picture with you last week:

And here are the steps I took to make my are:

• Glue torn strips of scrapbook paper, die-cuts, music paper, anything that you'd like to a plain unpainted canvas.
• Mod-Podge the layer for papers and let dry.
• Stick letters spelling out your word on canvas.
• Completely cover canvas in white paint and let dry.
• Peel letter stickers off of canvas and see exposed scrapbook materials underneath.
• Randomly sand white paint in various places on canvas to expose small hints of papers underneath.
• Adhere small scrap pieces of same papers on top of white paint.
• Outline letters with black paint pen
• Add word "remember"
• Add thick layer of Mod-Podge over complete piece to set and protect work
• Enjoy!

Here is another larger photo of my word . . . COURAGE:

My dear friend Peggy's word, TRUTH:

My sister's word, BALANCE:

And my friend Cindi's word, IMPROVE:

I added a key to each piece, to symbolize "unlocking the word in our year". I like that. I'm all about the symbols, you know.

And I'm all about the texture.  There were NO MISTAKES in this project . . . everything goes, and I am so pleased with the outcomes. Here is another close-up shot where you can really see the layers on each piece.

And another one . . . don't you just want to reach out and touch the screen? Go ahead . . .

And a picture of the key . . . I love keys. Mysterious, don't you think? Where does the key lead you . . . if you follow your word in life?

Thanks for allowing me to share this project with you.

I am proud to say that I will be offering MANY of these in my Etsy shop in the coming days. If there is a particular word you would like to see in my shop, please leave me a comment and let me know. I'll update you on when you can add one to your home.

Until then . . . may you unlock much joy and courage in your day!

Peace, my friend.

I remember . . .

Oh, boy oh boy. . . I'm finding it. It's actually all around me today. And I am blessed because of it.

Courage.

I broke out of my gloomy creative state earlier this week and made the above "Courage" art piece, which will be proudly displayed in my family room. I love it. It's a new style of art from what I've done in the past (which took COURAGE), and it's a big time reminder of what I have in me to do (CREATE).

I made three more for my dear soul sisters (LT, PK and CE) with their words for 2012 . . . I'll share photos of them after tomorrow (when I will present each of them with their pieces.) I hope they like them.

Courage.

And . . . I signed up for a course today. This course, to be exact. I've had my eyeball on it for quite some time, but felt such inner turmoil of spending the class fee on myself. After a little encouragement from some other creative souls, and a phone call with PG, I registered myself for this class.

I think it is exactly what I need right now.

Speaking of PG . . . have I told you about my amazing husband? Really. When I asked him if I could spend the $400 on this class for myself . . . not a single minute or question or hesitation took place. He immediately said, "Of course!"  That man . . . he believes in me even more than I believe in myself right now. And I love him.

So, Hello Soul. Hello Business!  

I'm SO ready for you!

Courage.

I think it's time . . . time to return to the Magnificent Monday Vlog . . . don't you think? I can't promise I'll get my act together enough to do one every week . . . but that is the plan. So, come back on Monday, for my return!!! WAHOOOO!!! (You've missed me, haven't you? Well . . . I've missed YOU, too!)

Courage.

And, Annalee . . . you remember Annalee, right? That adorably awesome little character of . . . me? Well, I've been designing some new cards and magnets and have some other goodies in the works . . . no time like the present, right? So, keep posted on my Etsy shop opening within the next couple of weeks.

Courage.

Yep . . . it's been long enough, don't you think?

I think it's time to get moving. . . .

Courage.