Monday Musings

5 Things I've leaned since owning a dog: 

•  Shit happens. Deal and move on.

• If at first you don't succeed, try...try again. 

• There is always time for play.

• There is no past or future. Only now. 

• If all else fails: love.....just love

Monday Musings

5 Things I am grateful for this Monday morning:

• That I have no obligations to be anywhere today. Sometimes a day (or two) wearing sweats really is balm for the soul.

• For my new car and the lessons it taught about the difference between luxuries and necessities. 

• For connection and how many times it has shown up for me this past year.

• For art and all the ways it breaks me wide open. I'm learning that painting is the most vulnerable form of expression for me.

• That our trip to Hawaii is just over a month away. I can hear the sounds of surf calling my name already. 

Monday Musings

5 things that inspired me last week:

• Listening to Danielle's passionate interview on CBC radio.

• Having a full moon intention ceremony with my daughter, Hailee, and hearing her read her "Dear Moon" letter out loud.

• Watching this humble collaborative movie on 11/11/11 

• This video 

• Reading this post and feeling as though it was calling out right to my heart.

Happy Monday all! May you have an inspirational week filled with love and joy!

Monday Musings

5 things I love about this time of year:

• Getting to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a movie or a book

• Hot tea any time of day

• The bright red color of our Maple tree in the back

• Sneaking Halloween candy before it is time to hand it out

• The crispness of the morning frost, weaving its beautiful intricate pattern on the Earth

What about you?

Monday Musings...

I am thankful:

- For the flight attendant who gave me a bottle of water for my drive on Friday even though there was no beverage service.

- For Kate. For seeing me. For seeing me so intently that I could almost physically feel her embracing my presence from across the room.

- For water and what it does to my spirit. Everything from the hot bath on Friday night to the roar of the ocean and cleansing rain on Sunday.

- For new friends. My new people. From the friends on the East and to the West and the ones from the North.

- For the coffee shop in Pacific Grove and the new memories that have been seeded there.

- For the tears that came and the weeks past where I have felt them coming yet was unable to embrace the emotion and let it be. The wave that finally came over me was powerful, vulnerable, raw and so very real.

- For the shift that I allowed to happen inside of me and the willingness to let it be OK to grow just now. To take new steps this very moment towards my purpose.

- For music and the perfectly timed playlist that filled the radio waves on my drive yesterday.

- For the mother on the airplane traveling alone with her two young children. One heaving into the air-sick bag and the other not old enough to understand. This reminded me to be gentle with my own daughter.

-For the magical moment the sun filled the sky on the flight home with a sendoff only California could offer. Whispering reminders of things to come.

Monday Musings

5 Women I have a blog crush on in this moment:

• Liz Lamoreux at Be Present, Be Here. Always gentle and inspiring. I really, truly cannot wait to meet her in person in October.


• Susannah Conway. Unravelling Goddess and my daily beacon of light and inspiration through Instagram.


• Brene Brown at Ordinary Courage. I just finished her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, and am now am fast becoming a mega fan.


• Mia M. at These Tender Hooks. The most amazing pen-pal a girl can have and a truly gifted artist.


• Amanda at Kind Over Matter. Daily inspiration paired with gorgeous photos. Plus she has just enough rebellious spirit in her to keep things fun.

Monday Musings

5 Things I am grateful for in this moment...

• Connecting with the sweet Rebecca last week. My side of the conversation is now up here.


• Having a family that loves me for me and allows me to be who I am without shame, guilt or secrecy


• Being married to a man who believes in me and sticks by me even in the most difficult of circumstances


• Finding that my passion for art and creating has been re-ignited and still thrives


• The fact that the 3 piles of cat puke I found this morning were all on the tile and NOT on the carpet. (yes it really is the little things in life)

Happy Monday!

 

Monday Musings

5 Reasons Why Being Sick SUCKS!

• I feel like a Kleenex QA tester. It doesn't matter how soft they are, at the end of the day, they all feel like a burlap sack.


• After 2 weeks I have forgotten what food tastes like and when my sense of smell starts to return it is probably going to be sensory overload.


• Missing my December 1st deadline of being done with Christmas shopping.


• Having the obsessive compulsive desire to wash my hands every 5 minutes and disinfecting everything I touch in hopes of not spreading the plague further.


• Talking like my head is in a bubble. Can't I at least get a sexy husky voice when I'm sick instead?

Monday Musings

5 Games on my wish list this year. Yes I am a self-proclaimed geek and proud of it.

• EA Sports Active 2 - The first one for the Wii really blew the Wii Fit out of the water in my opinion. Now this one in combination with Kinect is sure to be even better!


• Dance Central - Guaranteed to embarrass the snot out of me and prove to be highly amusing for others to watch I am sure.


• Rock Band 3 - My Rock Band 2's band name is Miss Moon. Pretty much everyone in my household plays. I just refuse to sing.


• Bananagrams - My husband and I play Words with Friends on the iPad/iPhone all the time.


• Wii Party - For when the entire family wants to play something together. I like to make sure we get games that my daughter can enjoy too.

Monday Musings

5 things I am thankful for in this moment.

• Hot Tea...lots and lots of hot tea, sweetened with sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.


• That my husband is in town this week to deal with my daughters tooth extractions. I don't do teeth.


• Finally getting my new road bike after 3 weeks of waiting.


• Hearing my daughter say: "Thank You" at every house we visited trick-or-treating.


• Warm fuzzy blankets and piles of new books to read.

Monday Musings

5 E-courses to for personal development, creativity and self-exploration:

• Tracey Clark's Picture the Holidays. I am currently participating in the Picture Fall Photography class and am loving the prompts and inspiration. Sign ups are currently open now for the Holiday course.


• Susannah Conway's Unravelling Courses. Also a course I am currently participating in. Susannah is an absolute treasure of a person and inspires me so much. Her courses have limited enrollment and do fill up extremely fast so make sure to mark the next enrollment date on your calendar if you wish you sign up.


• Stephanie Lee's Homesteader Metalsmithing E-course. I made the leap and signed up for this course as well. It will be a totally new and challenging experience for me. I can't wait!


• Andrea Schroeder's Creativity 101 E-course. She is offering this for free, all you have to do is sign up with your email. I haven't had a chance to dive into this one yet but it is definitely on my to-do list.


• Drew Bennett's Personal Branding BootCamp. Another great free course currently being offered. If you are a blogger and want to streamline your brand then I highly recommend checking this out.

 

Monday Musings

5 things that inspire me in this moment:

• This post by Meghan at Life Refocused


• Vintage Cameras


• Reading this quote in a moment of clarity: "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell


• Discovering I can journal with photos, clippings and color instead of just words.


• These beautiful engraved beach pebbles.

Happy Monday!

Monday Musings

Why not start out Monday with reflection and cast aside the weekly dread?

5 things that make me happy, in this moment.

• The ornamental grass blowing in the breeze this time of year. It is impossible for me to walk by and not touch the foofy tops.


• All the new blogs I am discovering and devouring as fast as I can. Like this one and this one.


• The fact that I survived my first Pilates class this morning!


• My new hat from Piper and Paisley. I got so many compliments on it this weekend I think I may be becoming a hat person!


• Playing Splode on the iPad. There is just something very meditative and zen about the cute little fluffy guys bursting to relaxing music.