karenika

Weekly Diary – October 19 2013

Here are some photos from this week. Not too many this time around:

Jake’s cousin came to visit us with her daughter and we took the opportunity to snap some shots.

One more of us.

then it was family photo time.

i love that even if I take no photos all week, I still have these I can count on.

I love looking at them and seeing how much the kids have grown over the three years we’ve been doing this.

we love plants vs zombies number two!

and some tickling.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

SixBySix – Week 42

Before this week’s art here’s the important reminder: Please remember, this is personal and hand-made and thus imperfect. If you want perfect art, do not buy mine. Also one more reminder that these are pretty small. 5.5inches by 5.5inches. That’s about 14×14 centimeters). You will just get the original piece of watercolor paper with my art and signature in the back. No mounting, no frame. I don’t want to misrepresent anything. I will put a paypal button under each (you can pay with credit card or paypal.) the button doesn’t update so you will have to click through to see if it’s sold out. I will try to update them as quickly as I can and remove the button if it’s gone, but just in case. Each piece will be $35. That’s US dollars. If you have questions please leave a comment and I will reply as fast as I can.

With that here’s this week’s art:

it reads: you have to let go of one thing to find another.

SixBySix is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal and other details here.

A Book a Week – Where’d You Go Bernadette

I read Where’d You Go Bernadette for book club, too.

And I will say, I am not a chick lit person. I mean I was but I think I read a lot of them at some point and they all started resembling each other so I grew sick of it. (Same thing happened for John Grisham, too) So I wasn’t even sure I wanted to read this book.

And when I started it, I liked it even less.

But then I kept reading it and I couldn’t put it down. I just kept wanting to read more and more. I really liked Bee and Bernadette.

In the end, I am glad I read it.

2013 Sketching – Week 35

My goal for 2013 is to make three sketches a week. If I make more, great. If I don’t, that’s ok. Trying to keep the pressure low while still encouraging myself to draw.

my one sketch:

that’s it for this week. i have given myself permission to do just one. so be it.

Sketching is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my sketching journey here.

Life Insights

As I was doing my Life Organizer prompts this week, there was a question about life insights. I couldn’t remember what she referred to so I had to go back and reread the section. And then I realized I had never read it. One of the things she recommends is to go on a search and create a list of my life insights.

I love this idea so I immediately jotted some down:

Nature heals my soul.
Kindness comes first.
Be you.
Respect yourself and others.
You don’t have to be right.
Always say bless you.
I crave growth and learning.
I am at my best when I help others.
Self-worth is not something others bestow upon you. You have to believe in your own worth.
Quiet time is essential to my soul.
Always apologize to those you love. It’s never too late.
Journaling is how I see my thoughts.

These are just some of mine. I will be thinking of more for the next week. I love the idea of having this insight list. Sort of like personal commandments but slightly different context.

What are some of your life insights?

Gratitude Journal – Week 39

Here’s this week’s gratitudes and celebrations:

Before:

it says: who would you be without the thought that there’s something wrong with you.

and here’s what the page looks like with all the gratitudes and celebrations:

Just another excuse to create art and remember the present that is my life.

Gratitude Journal is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal other details here.

Weekly Diary – October 12 2013

Here are some photos from this week:

We decided it would be fun to go to the Chabot Space and Science Center but all the photos are pretty low quality because there was pretty much no light in there.

David experiencing the work astronauts have to do.

reading the instructions.

what it feels like at no gravity.

my little astronaut.

they also had some tables where high school kids teach you about different science concepts. This one was about pigments and ultraviolet light.

they really liked this part.

david was very curious.

and of course Nathaniel too.

David at no gravity, too.

begging not to go home.

they had a really good time.

then it was time for family photos.

and tickling.

and more tickling.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

SixBySix – Week 41

With that here’s this week’s art:

it reads: take time to dance in the rain.

SixBySix is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal and other details here.

The Savor Project 2013 – Week 38

This week I have three pages from the weekend we went to Martha’s Vineyard to meet Jake’s family:

I love all of these photos so much.

Just seeing the whole family together is lovely and reminds me how lucky I am.

See you next week!

The Savor Project is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal and other details here.

Gratitude PostCards – Week 37

Here’s this week’s card :

It says: capture the joy in everyday moments.

This card uses a template from The Crafter’s Workshop (as well as a few others.) and acrylic paint.

Gratitude PostCards is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal and the postcards I use here.

A Book a Week – Seating Arrangements

I read Seating Arrangements for book club.

I had heard about the book and wanted to read it. For some reason I thought it would be a slow read but it wasn’t so at all. I read it in two days and I felt like the story flowed very well. Maybe cause Jake’s from New England, I thought that I understood the kind of people the characters were and could feel some connection to the story.

But I am not sure how much I liked it.

I mean I didn’t dislike it, I just don’t feel hugely connected to it. Considering how many wonderful books there are to read, this wouldn’t go on the top of my list.

More plans for next year

I’ve been quiet here because work’s been insane and my back is acting up and honestly I don’t really know what else. I just haven’t been feeling like writing or able to write. I am still making plans for next year. I recently reread a few old posts and if you’re busy making plans for next year, too, maybe this one will help you out: Making Three Lists.

I’ve decided what I need next year is a lot more pre-planning. One of the reasons I struggle when sticking to plans is that I have to spend so much time coming up with ideas. When I sit down to sketch, I need to spend hours online finding something to sketch. I figured that if I had it all ready ahead of time, I wouldn’t waste as much time coming up with ideas each week. And, of course, if I have a new idea, it can supersede my list. But it’s no pressure this way.

Or maybe I am fooling myself.

Either way, that’s what’s on my mind. Since I am all excited about my projects, I figure this is a good time to do research and groundwork. I’ve also been thinking about my list answers from the thee lists post above. And what kind of thoughts-posts I might like to do. And what projects I might want to do with David and with Nathaniel.

The planning is making me happy for now so I am trying to keep at it. Here’s a dump of all that I am considering in case it’s helpful for any of you. This is just a dump of what’s on my head at this moment. It might all stay and it might all go or some combination in between:

Things I want to learn/do in relation to Art:

doodling – been on my list three years in a row now!
sketching/painting faces – been on my list three years in a row too!
lettering
collage
using my photos with my art
sketching people in different poses
drawing trees/wings
making signs/sayings
sketching scenes
large scale paintings/drawings
using some of the materials I haven’t used in a while: oil pastels, pan pastels, neocolor crayons, watercolor markers, etc.
digital design – maybe

So when I am designing my art projects, I am thinking about these things.

for health stuff I am thinking about:

pilates
yoga
weights
incrementing daily steps
no sugar

For thoughts posts, I am thinking about posting around:

Learning: I plan to take classes/learn more regularly next year, so I’d be sharing these.
Coaching: Some exercises, thoughts, learnings in the coaching area
Listen: this is my word for next year so these would be insights/intentions around my word
Getting things done, being organized, just random thoughts from that day, etc.

Also thinking about:

volunteering more.
building community again (this is a struggle for me.)
gratitude
whether i want to sell my art
whether i want to videotape while doing art
what classes i might want to take to learn new things
maybe David and I can learn together for his project with me
what can i do with Nathaniel? Maybe something that practices reading or writing?
how can i organize my projects so they have a monthly theme within the yearly project?

That’s what I have so far. I’m also starting/thinking about my December Daily. So happy Christmas is coming soon.

What’s on your mind? Any ideas/recommendations for me? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Weekly Diary – October 19 2013

SixBySix – Week 42

A Book a Week – Where’d You Go Bernadette

2013 Sketching – Week 35

Life Insights

Gratitude Journal – Week 39

Weekly Diary – October 12 2013

SixBySix – Week 41

The Savor Project 2013 – Week 38

Gratitude PostCards – Week 37

A Book a Week – Seating Arrangements

More plans for next year

projects for twenty twenty-five

archives by month

archives by category

savor every last drop

projects for twenty twenty-four

projects for twenty twenty-three

projects for twenty twenty-two

projects for twenty twenty-one

projects for twenty nineteen

projects for twenty eighteen

projects from twenty seventeen

monthly projects from previous years

some of my previous projects

me elsewhere

past classes