70 Days Committment: Watch out World

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For the past 30 days I have been trying to stay COMMITTed to my desire to lose weight and get back in shape. I started fresh each week only to fail miserably by the end of the week....
or so I thought.

Maybe I wasn't failing after all.
Maybe it just took me this long to
DECIDE how much
I TRULY want this.
That I am sick of feeling this way.

For those of you following along on my 70 Day COMMITment you may recall my words from last week...Here's to a VERY GOOD week and a VERY GOOD report this Monday!!
When I wrote that I didn't know how good my report would be Monday (or in this case Wednesday)...but I was sure hoping that my COMMITment to a program would FINALLY take hold of me and I would have some success.

I can report that I have had a good week:)
I lost two pounds at my weigh-in Tuesday.
Total weight loss this spring as been 5 pounds.

I think what has finally got me to say...

I CAN do this is Valerie Bertinelli's book.

I know how that must sound..."Really a book written by movie star Valerie Bertinelli?! That's kind of shallow isn't it??"

It's not that I want to look like her (although she looks pretty fantastic!) 

or be a star like her

or rich and famous like her...

No.

It's several other things...

in the book she is MY age...48.

To see someone that's my exact age 

lose weight and get in shape...really helped.

We also share the exact same relationship with food.

And hearing how she handled emotional 

issues with her teen son, Wolfie

WITHOUT eating REALLY helped me.

And the last really big idea that hit me like a ton of bricks was when 

she shares how her LIFE CHANGED. How doors began to open...

how she used to sit at home and eat and watch TV and feel sorry 

for herself BEFORE the weight loss...

but AFTER the weight loss her whole person changed.

She was confident in her own skin,

she smiled more...

walked tall and proud...

and doors began to open.

That's what REALLY got to me.

And so 

I lost 2 pounds this week.

I am going to walk 8,000 steps each day.

Go to Curves 3 times this week.

And plan my meals.

What does YOUR plan look like?

What's on my Work Desk?

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."  -James Allen


It's been a few years since I participated in WOYWW...and boy have I missed it!! It's so fun seeing what all of you are doing and having a record of what I am working on:). So TODAY I start sharing again...thanks for looking!!


I just got back from being in Arizona and FINALLY got to go to Scraps of Love in Peoria. What a WONDERFUL, treasured filled store!! And my favorite part was all the Dina Wakley products they had:)

I ended up buying quite a few items including her latest stamps...are these not AMAZING??!!

This particular page was inspired by the Art to the 5th gals and their year long Documented Life Project. The theme was Water Under the Bridge...my take on this was I am saying GOODBYE to old habits and HELLO to new ones:)

Thanks for looking!! I will be by your Work Desk soon:)

My 70 Day Journey-Day One (again)

"Whatever you do...do with all your heart."  -Me


I spent a total of 45 hours in the car in the past 6 days. We made a road trip to Mesa, Arizona (our 4th in the past few months) and by now I know to take LOTS of reading material! Usually I pack art books and magazines but this trip I was inspired to pack just these...

Remember I am on this 70 Day journey...? And so far I have done a whole lot of nothing. Well, maybe lots of thinking and planning but nothing has really stuck. I am still finding myself stuck in old, bad habits and feeling yucky. While I was deciding which art magazines to bring I came across Fit to Live and Finding It. Two books I have intended to read...but had been putting off.

Well, let me tell you...I know now why I haven't read them before...I wasn't ready...or maybe it's because I am NOW ready! Whatever it is/was...these two books are now my bibles and I plan on re-reading them as often as needed!!

I read Fit to Live on the way to Mesa and just kept nodding my head up and down...this book is all about Toxic Belly Fat caused by STRESS!!!! THAT IS SO ME!!! EVERYTHING the author Pamela Peeke was sharing was ME to a TEE!! WOW!

Then Valerie Bertinelli's book Finding It was such a fun and fast read. I found myself relating to her and her weight issues page after page. She reminded me that with taking control of your life...whether it's weight or something else...doors begin to open and you begin LIVING once again. THAT IS WHAT I WANT...to begin LIVING my life!!

So today I am back at Day One. And that's ok. I feel like I have my head AND my heart working together now and the tools I need to stay on track.

Here's to a VERY GOOD week and a VERY GOOD report this Monday!!

Getting personal today (My 70 Day Commitment)

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale

WOW...so this right here just hit me over the head...HARD!

I am FULL of excuses...I am.

And it's sad.

It's why I am not losing weight.

It's why I feel yucky and my clothes keep getting tighter.

If you have read my blog for very long then you already know that I am a HUGE admirer of Brave Girl Melody Ross. No one else like her!! I have been reading her journey to wellness and her last post REALLY got me to thinking about my own life.

It's SO MUCH MORE than the weight people! I just plain don't feel good!!!

I don't.

I have Hashimoto's Disease  and it plain sucks. Yes it does. My body is literally attacking my thyroid so it doesn't function properly. UGH!.

So instead of feeling really good like I do here....

I feel yucky and old. I have terrible hot flashes, I can't sleep, fat clings to my tummy and thighs (but mostly my mid-section) and I have zero energy.

Makes me want to SCREAM!

And honestly I do it all to myself. 

I do.

I do not take care of me.

Or my disease.

So reading Melody's post last week REALLY hit home with me and I realized we had similar issues with our bodies and she had come to the realization that it was ALL UP TO HER. And if she TRULY loved herself enough she would TAKE CARE OF HERSELF.

BAM!

Do I love myself enough?

I thought so.

But then yesterday it was Easter and we had dinner.

Well, I had LOTS of dinner.

SALT and SUGAR. Oh my so much SUGAR.

When you have Hashimoto's sugar is NOT the thing to eat.

Today I woke up at 4:40 AM.  All I could do was thing about how much I HATE my body. How I am NOT comfortable in my own skin. And how this time last year I had lost 15 pounds. I was remembering how AMAZING that felt. How light-hearted I was.

This photo was taken last April/May. I was 15 pounds lighter. I remember this night. It felt SO GOOD to put that outfit on...everything FIT. In fact my pants were so loose I could barely keep them on. I wore those same pants to to my father in laws visitation last week and they were so tight I couldn't button them all the way.

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite thing about this photo though is the FEELING I remember having. COMPLETE peace and acceptance of myself. Oh how I miss that.

But today...

TODAY is a NEW DAY. At leas that's what my dear, sweet husband says. As I got ready for the day I was nearly in tears sharing with him how BAD I feel about myself at this time. He hugged me and reassured me that TODAY is a NEW DAY. TODAY WE will be on this path together.

So I took a deep breath and decided that maybe he was right. Maybe today is a new day. Maybe...just like that Brave Girl saying above IT REALLY IS POSSIBLE.

I weighed myself, took my thyroid medication and promised to love myself today. I also am going to learn more my disease this week (I have had it nearly 8 years and really don't know that much about it!!)

When my daughter and I step on that plane to Paris I want to LOVE myself again. I want to be AT PEACE. 

I hope I can tell you in next week's post about how AWESOME my week was. About how I ate healthy and how after just one week I feel SO GOOD!!

I would LOVE to hear YOUR thoughts on weight loss...living healthy...and if you have a thyroid disease please share what works for you!!!

Rekindle Our Hearts: The Challenge BEGINS!

I have kept my own Gratitude Journal off and on for years...sometimes in an actual journal, other times jotted on a piece of scrap paper. Regardless of where I write down those 5 things...each and every time I do my Heart swells with peace, love and gratefulness for all the ABUNDANCE in my life!

Beginning TODAY April 1st, join me for 30 Days of Gratitude. Each day I will post inspiring quotes, links, images and more in my Facebook group Mind.Body. Soul. Your job is to create 30 mini cards...you can use index cards, Project Life cards (the blank ones), ATC cards...anything small! Each day we will write down at least 5 things we are grateful for on our cards. By the end of April we will have stack of 150 things we are grateful for!! Hellloooo Happiness!!:)

Here are a few little treasures I have gathered for this week's tags. Those Heidi Swapp stamps in the upper right corner are PERFECT for this challenge and costs less than three bucks!! ANYTHING small will do...letter stamps, tiny hearts, scrap paper, buttons, flowers...heck just a pen and a few doodles is all you need:)

If you have an Instagram account use the hashtag #30daysofgratitude to share your work.

Remember....this is ALL about GRATITUDE! It doesn't have to be fancy...let's focus on the GOOD in our lives. Miracles happen when we do that, girls!! I know from experience. Thanks so much for playing along...I am so grateful for all of YOU!!  xoxoxo

Week Two: My 70 Day Commitment-Discipline and Perseverance

In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm… in the real world all rests on perseverance. 
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


I know from experience the above statement is 100% truth. I can be so excited for a project/goal...gather everything I need, write down the steps it takes me to get there, etc. etc. But unless I WORK and PERSEVERE through all the muck...all the times I want to QUIT, throw in the towel...say I have had ENOUGH...the goal will never be reached.

Sixteen years ago this June...I completed a full, 26.2 mile marathon. The Mayor's Midnight Sun in Anchorage, Alaska as a part of the Leukemia Society's Team in Training.

Yep, that's me at approx. Mile 17.(I am the one running not the lady in the purple shorts...lol) I had just ran through those gorgeous pine trees you see behind us and was making my way to the city of Anchorage where I knew my sweet family would be! They gave me a high five and a quick hug as I went by. Talk about SUPPORT! Wow! That helped me so much!!

When I look back to my marathon days(I ran one more and completed a Sprint Triathlon)what kept me going...what helped me reach my goals was DISCIPLINE and PERSEVERANCE. I not only repeated those words over and over throughout my training...I had them embroidered on a sweatshirt. They became my way of life.

That, I have come to realize, is what's lacking in my life today. 

Last week I shared my goals with you over the next 70 days. Why 70 days? My daughter and I are headed to France in June and I want nothing more than to lose ten pounds by the day our flight leaves. I KNOW I can do it...I have done it before but I am realizing that without discipline and perseverance I am never going to make it.

And that just won't do.

Don't ever give in. Don't ever give up. Never surrender even if you've had enough.
Franchine Chiar

So my first week of my commitment was...ok. I walked, drank my water and would eat well for awhile then give in to something that sounded good (chocolate eggs and strawberry shortcakes!)

I was mad at myself more times than not and eventually became depressed and hopeless. Yes, I get that way when I don't honor myself. And lately I haven't been honoring myself at all.

But last night I told myself that in my second week of my 70 day commitment things would be different. So I took a hot bath and was in bed by 11! A big step for me...I love staying up late which leads to late night binge eating. The bath was a wonderful treat, helped me relax and not eat:)

I woke feeling refreshed this morning and ready to take on the world. With my pedometer on I gave myself an eight thousand step goal for my walk...which I accomplished! Go me!! I find when I start my day off with healthy choices it's easier to keep making good ones throughout my day. 

That's me at the end of my first marathon in Alaska. Even though it's been nearly twenty years since I crossed that finish line I will NEVER forget the FEELING I had!! NEVER. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I had goal, I planned, I trained, I PERSEVERED and I FINISHED! 

My life changed that day in more ways than I can count. This week I am going back there...to that feeling...to all the hard work and time I put in to get my body in shape...I AM ready for Week 2. I am READY to reach my goals!!

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

A Happy Page -My process

"May we sit with our tools and honor each messy, sacred moment with them."  -Pixie Campbell


I LOVE getting messy with paint and ink and stamps and molding paste and...well my list goes on and on!! Here is a peek into my process...

Despite the lovely bright color of orange...I rarely use it. Hmmmm...not quite sure why but I don't. Anyway...I started my piece with a bright orange then added a bit of yellow to create a lighter color. As you can see I had fun swiping an old motel key through my paint.

 Turquoise is ALWAYS my go-to color...so I filled in most of the white on both pages with my FAVE paintbrush EVER!! 

If you don't have these brushes go here right now and purchase them. You won't ever regret it:) 

So here is my page looking all messy and amazing and needing so much more...so I add a few swipes of light yellow...another go-to color of mine.

Ever since I found  Dylusions spray inks a page isn't complete without at least a spritz. Oh and STENCILS. They are a must. This one looks like chicken wire...and to be honest the only way to really use this stencil is with spray ink. It is very delicate and acrylic paint doesn't work too well (unless your brush is VERY dry).

Next I took a Native American looking stencil and placed it on both pages, added a few strips of washi tape (I love washi!!) along with a few scribbles with my oil pastel crayons. (Robin Marie Smith inspired)

One of my favorite things about spray inks is how they leave a fine mist in random places on my pages. PERFECT!

Most times I add random stamps and doodles on my pages...but this time I liked it just as it was. The inspiration for finishing the page came from my Happy Mail stash I had received the day before...a stamped circle along with two quotes about flowers and memories. I then went through my stash of images I had cut-out from last year's calendar and found the house and flowers. The flowers didn't have stems so I took a painted piece of an index card from my Happy Mail stash and cut them in wavy strips.

VOILA! A really bright, happy and FUN layout!

"I don't want to be a diluted, half-baked version of the artist I know I was born to be. I don't want to fade out, fit in, or fix the broken things and change. I want to inhabit this skin and linger, stay tethered to this gift for as long as I'm allowed, for as long as life permits."  -Anne Carmack

Thanks for looking!! I appreciate you and your comments.

My Commitment for the next 70 Days

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” 
― Peter F. Drucker

My Word for this year is Commit. I promised myself to COMMIT to all kinds of things...but mostly to my Art and my Health. This time last year I had Committed to working out, eating healthy and was on a roll!! I had lost nearly 15 pounds, wearing clothes I hadn't in years and feeling SO GOOD about myself. 

But then, like I always do...while I was gaining more and more momentum...I just stopped. 

Tracking my food.

Walking.

Working out.

Caring.

And as I stopped doing all those things...stress set in and i began to eat and not care some more. But the thing is...I really DO care. But for whatever reason I don't care ENOUGH. It's always been just one long vicious cycle with me. When good things happen...I freeze...not knowing how to react, go into a tailspin and take one big nose dive.

This is one of my favorite photos of myself. I was doing SO GOOD here!! I was down nearly 15 pounds and wearing a dress I had bought to celebrate my success. 

The funny thing is...while I remember feeling FABULOUS this day...I also remember telling myself I still had such a long way to go. NUTS when I think about it now. I want to be here again so darn BAD!!!

So as I began gaining one pound then four pounds, etc., etc....I kept telling myself that it was no big deal and I would get it off again soon. Every Monday I would START and COMMIT myself again to working out and eating right. 

All of that is well and good but unless you have a plan and then actually FOLLOW THROUGH with it...you will fail miserably.

So here I am today...all fifteen pounds back on my body and feeling like crud. 

UGH

This is a photo of Emma and I last week at Family Camp in Mesa, Arizona...what a wonderful time we had!! But look at me!!! I was so uncomfortable and out of shape here. 

My sweet girl Emma had just finished her 49 day journey at Anasazi. As part of that journey we were invited to spend two and half days in the Wilderness with her. On our one full day there Emma had us pick up a rock at the bottom of a foothill (looked like a mountain to me!) and as we climbed up to the top we were supposed to think of one thing we wanted to let go of. I had an idea of what I wanted to let go of but as we hiked it became more and more clear to me...so much so that I ended up angry enough to summit without help! (it was quite steep and SO MANY BOULDERS and I was EXHAUSTED and weak!!!) 

This is not the mountain we hiked up but VERY similar!!

Image here

Anyway...as I climbed I kept my head down...I just didn't want to see how far I had to go. When I thought we may be near the summit I lifted my head and realized we had quite a ways left....my mind screamed..."YOU CAN"T DO THIS LESLIE!!" Silly me started listening to my mind and I found myself ready to shout up to my family..."Let's just stop here...it's almost to the top!!! Why do we need to make it to the top?? Nothing much different there than here."

Before I could get that out though...my HEART said "STOP!" This is what you DO every.single.time. Leslie!! IT'S WHAT YOU DO! and it's WHY you are stagnant in so many areas of your life. YOU STOP when it gets hard. JUST when you are at the goal...YOU QUIT. You think...oh I made it this far...what's the difference between here and there?? It's HUGE!! That's what it is!! It's the difference between winners and losers!!"

I literally stopped for a moment. Why I had I not seen that before?? It's TRUE. I ALWAYS stop before I reach my goal!! It's that way in my art, my weight, when I clean house, create...EVERYTHING!!! If it gets too uncomfortable...I'm out!

I was more determined than ever to summit that day...and I DID!! The view was breathtaking and I honestly couldn't believe I did it!!!! My sweet girl had a very special ceremony at the top then told us to take some quiet time before we threw our rocks off the top. As I thought about all that got me to this moment I realized that if I TRULY committed that day there was no way I would fail. I mean here I was on top of a mountain with the three people that mean the world to me!!!!  

Us at Family Camp. LOVE these three!!!!

So here I am nearly 2 weeks later and ready to share my COMMITMENT with you. One of the best ways I know how to be successful is being open and honest with others...so today I commit to weekly updates on my blog, photos and sharing my heart with you. This week I commit to daily walks...I love the way I FEEL when I am outside moving my body!!!

My sweet Em and I leave for PARIS in just 70 days!! We have been planning our trip for over a year now (we are going with the HS french club)...so in the next 70 days here are my goals!!

*Log my meals daily

*Drink at least 8 glasses of water

*take my Curves vitamins twice daily

*Workout at Curves 3-4 times a week

*Walk at least 4-5 times a week outside

*check in weekly on my blog

*weigh myself weekly

*Lose 10 pounds (one size)

“Don't ever give up. 
Don't ever give in. 
Don't ever stop trying. 
Don't ever sell out. 
And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, 
pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off.
But never, ever, ever give up.” 
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Eena, The Tempter's Snare

Rekindle Our Hearts:30 Days of Gratitude

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."  -Albert Einstein


Spring is COOOMMMMIINNNG!!!! And boy or boy am I READY!! While we didn't have a ton of snow this year (not like those of you from the East Coast...Bless you all for enduring that) but here in Northwest Missouri it can be bitterly cold...the kind of cold that seeps into your bones and takes a LONG time to warm up. Add lack of sunshine and gale force winds and you can see why Spring can't come soon enough!!

Soooo....I am in the mood to CELEBRATE by pouring out my Heart daily in a gratitude journal. It's been awhile since I did that and I think Spring is the perfect time to start this daily habit again. I first heard about the practice of daily gratitude journal from this book...

 The author Sarah Ban Breathnach appeared on the Oprah Show back in the 1990's and the minute I heard about her and her book and her idea of gratitude I KNEW it was something I had to read (and try)! If you don't have your copy...I encourage you to purchase this...money well spent!!

I have kept my own Gratitude Journal off and on for years...sometimes in an actual journal, other times jotted on a piece of scrap paper. Regardless of where I write down those 5 things...each and every time I do my Heart swells with peace, love and gratefulness for all the ABUNDANCE in my life!

Beginning Wednesday April 1st, join me for 30 Days of Gratitude. Each day I will post inspiring quotes, links, images and more in my Facebook group Mind.Body. Soul. Your job is to create 30 mini cards...you can use index cards, Project Life cards (the blank ones), ATC cards...anything small! Each day we will write down at least 5 things we are grateful for on our cards. By the end of April we will have stack of 150 things we are grateful for!! Hellloooo Happiness!!:)

I  hope you will join me for this journey as we rekindle our Hearts.

Heart of Peace Cards-Step by Step

"Only when one is connected to one's inner core is one connected to others. And, for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be re-found through solitude."  -Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Writer


The winter has been cold and long. I am ready for sunlight, warm breezes and flowers! Flowers represent new growth, life and all things beautiful. These past few months I have been involved with the Seven Paths program at Anasazi...talk about growth...WOW! My heart has expanded in ways I never thought possible. And while I still have a ways to go (don't we all) I have promised myself and my family to have a Heart of Peace rather than a Heart of War.

Inspired by my new way of living and to remind me what I need to do to live with a Heart of Peace I created a set of 8 "Heart" tags...just the right size to keep with me when I need an instant "growth spurt":).

I started with 8-2.5x5 inch white tags from Hobby Lobby. I layed them side by side and glued random bits of similar colored paper and book paper on each one.

Then using various colors of Dylusions inks and assorted stencils I added a second layer to my tags. This is always my favorite part of the process as I LOVE stencils and inks! The complete randomness of the drips and sprays makes my heart beat a little faster...lol!

My third layer involved another color of ink for each tag. Instead of using a stencil...this time around I puddled the ink at the top then sprayed water on it and watched as it snaked it's way down the tag. Delicious!

While those dried I rifled through my stash of Happy Mail (mail I have received from artist friends) searching for handmade background papers, pulled out my BRAND NEW Dina Wakley heart stamps, Stazon ink and got busy stamping out hearts. Once those dried I cut them out. Then I took eight different washi tapes and adhered one small strip on the bottom right corner of each tag. Washi tape is the very BEEEESSST!! (said in my best Nacho Libre voice)

Here are a few of the hearts along with the fourth layer on my tag...background stamps. I LOVE how just by stamping here and there the tags take on an even messier/shabby look.

From there I just enjoyed the process of placing the right heart onto the right tag along with choosing eight different reminders for my Heart. Those came from the amazing and oh, so inspirational Brave Girls Club and Soul School.

I am taking notes.

 I am thinking.

I am working through this.

I am perfectly imperfect.

I am improving.

Here are all eight...

I am asking. I am loved. I am a work in progress.

 If you have never worked in a group like this...I encourage you to do so...it's just so relaxing to take your little bits and pieces and create a set of these. If you don't have tags you can use ATC cards, blank Project Life cards or even card stock you hand cut to a smaller size.

Whatever you do...make sure to take time and CREATE. It brings me to a place, that no matter how hard my day has been...it fills my heart with light and peace. Enjoy!

Walking Forward

"Do you and I allow light to chase darkness from our souls? Darkness within clouds the world without." -Good Buffalo Eagle


Lately I have been inspired by the Native American Culture. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous...but it's so meaningful and spiritual. Have you ever really stopped to see the beauty in nature?

As my daughter Walks in Mesa, Arizona at a place called Anasazi...I Walk, too. I am learning and growing thanks to their amazing program based on Good Buffalo Eagle's book "The Seven Paths:Changing One's Way of Walking in the World". 

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is available on Amazon here.


One of the founders of Anasazi and the author of the book is Good Buffalo Eagle. That's him...the older Native American gentleman wearing a white hat. I had the privilege of meeting him three weeks ago...the day we dropped our girl off...one of the kindest men I have ever met.

 The Anasazi way is for each individual to connect with Mother Earth and the Creator. It is a beautiful journey I am currently on and so grateful to have found! Not only for my sweet Emma but for myself.

Each day I answer my workbook questions, pondering how I can Walk Forward more than Walk Backwards. And like the quote above I am learning that the point of my Walk here on this Earth is not about how successful I am or how much money I make...it's not about how far I Walk and I KNOW now that the ONLY way I can Walk Forward is by changing my Heart.

"I could feel my heart walking farther and my feet stepping with more assurance upon the Earth. Just as the morning light sweeps away the night, the darkness within me began to be chased away by a dawn in my soul. then and many times since, my body and my heart have been illuminated alike...each of them saved by a sun. Young friend, have you felt what I am speaking of? Have you felt light in your soul? Have you felt warmth where before was coldness? As great as is the light above us, greater by far is the light within."  -Good Buffalo Eagle

I challenge you to think about YOUR Light this week. As Good Buffalo Eagle reminds us..."the outward light is but a reflection of the inner."

Messy Art Love

"Happiness is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day."  -Benjamin Franklin


It's been nearly a month and one day since I've blogged. It's not that I didn't have anything to say....it's just I've been busy with other things...staying connected through Instagram and my Facebook art groups...Mind.Body.Soul and Paint Happy. If you haven't stopped by lately be sure and say Hi:)

Along with my Paint Happy challenges I am enjoying playing along with the Art to the 5th girls and the Documented Life Project. What I REALLY love is my Dylusions art journal and ANYTHING Dina Wakely!!

This afternoon has been nice...just catching up on some friend's blogs...what inspiration I draw from each of them. Not only with my art but by how they live their lives! Jodene Shaw is one of the most beautiful souls out there. We have never met but one day I hope to not only sit and visit with her face to face but create!! Here is a fantastic post on being creative!!

My friend Leanne's blog post on living her dream is perfect for those of us that struggle with trying to live your creative dreams and have a job, family, etc. Check it out..."From Chaos Comes Happiness".

I am realizing that my very favorite art is messy. I am not an artist that likes clean lines and dark colors...I used to try and change that about myself...why?? I honestly don't know. Just trying to be the perfect artist I guess...why do we do that to ourselves??

My goal canvas for this year

I say create! Create what speaks to you. Tell YOUR Truth...speak your Heart!

What's holding you back??

Are you Disconnected from Your Heart?

"Many women today feel a sadness we cannot name. Though we accomplish much of what we set out to do, we sense that something is missing in our lives and fruitlessly search out there for the answers. What's often wrong is that we are disconnected from an authentic self."  -Emily Hancock


Years ago when my kids were babies I was lost. So sad and lost and so lonely. I spent everyday with my kids (which I loved) but had nothing just for me. I remember the moment when things began to change...my fog began to lift and my sense of self emerged...I was sitting on the couch talking with my husband. It had been a long day of changing diapers, feeding children and cleaning house...all of which had to be done again tomorrow. I was restless to DO something...anything but be in that house. As I sat whining to Dave he just looked at me and said "Babe, what you need is a hobby. Something you can do when you put the kids down for a nap or something you can do on a Saturday afternoon with friends." 

Well, yes I knew he was right..."I KNOW that Dave...but what??! What do I do. You have your hunting...what do I have? I don't know what to do!" I remember saying this in utter despair. I honestly didn't know what to DO. I didn't sew or paint or draw or do ceramics.

SIGH.

But then I was at the grocery store waiting on a prescription. As I looked at magazines to pass the time I ran across "Creating Keepsakes" magazine.

Do you remember this magazine? I LOVED it and miss it so much!! It's this magazine that changed my life in SO MANY ways! That day in the store I KNEW I had found my new hobby..."scrapbooking". I had always kept one in high school and I loved taking photos of my family....plus playing with stickers and glue...all of it just spoke to me. I jumped in with both feet, bought every scrapbook supply out at that time (crinkle cut scissors and stickers...lol) and became obsessed.

Soon wonderful things were happening...Not only was I spending a few Saturdays a month scrapbooking with new friends but my creativity was growing by leaps and bounds...my writing was improving and I was itchy to get published and start my own scrapbooking business (which I did). 

I never dreamed that less than 10 years later I would not only meet the founding editor of Creating Keepsakes, but would become lifelong friends with her and her lovely family.

This is us from 2009 in her front yard.

Lisa continues to inspire me in so many ways!!

As the years went by I continued to scrapbook, grow my business, teach classes and even get published....my hobby had grown into a passion!

As much as I LOVED to scrapbook...I longed to branch out creatively and try my hand at a thing I found while surfing the web one night...mixed media. It was the AMAZING Melody Ross and Brave Girls Club that launched my NEED for art journaling, paint and Mod Podge nearly 5 years ago!! You can read a bit about my Brave Girl journey here and see some of my early pieces.

In the past five years I have learned more about myself and found my TRUE calling all through my art, your blogs and my wonderful Facebook groups and friends. I have taught locally and was honored to teach in South Carolina last October at my first art retreat...(Thanks, Sherri!) This winter/spring I continue my passion for teaching with three classes "Art Journaling Basics", "With All My Heart" and "Do Brave Things". All available to my local friends:)

Girls...as I continue on my art journey I am SO grateful for my husband who loved me enough to tell me to listen to my heart. I am grateful for his love and support throughout our marriage...he inspires me to be my best! What he did for me was set me on my path to becoming my AUTHENTIC SELF. Finding Words and paint and images, putting them in books and on canvas...feeds my soul. teaching and inspiring you is my LOVE. 

I encourage YOU to find your Authentic Self...if you haven't already. REALLY listen to your Heart. What is it saying? Are you bored or tired or uninspired? DO SOMETHING!! Join an on-line group, start walking or just type in something you want to know more about and start learning about it on the Web!!

I am so grateful for this art journey of mine and I am grateful to have you here to learn and grow with me.

Here's to a passionate and inspiring 2015!!