Here are my words:
My first instinct was to do this about my book. I want to write a book. I want to get it published. I’ve had this dream/goal forever. But I’ve done art around this so I decided this time I’d do it about another dream. I want to go to Antarctica. I want to pet a penguin. This is something I really want to do before I die.
To put this together, I cut out a bunch of penguins, painted my paper and added some texture with fabric. I then added some glossy accents and some pearl to make it look like ice/water.
Today we went to our friends Jess and Chris’s for their son Beckett’s third birthday. That meant Nathaniel took his nap in the car and it was super-short and then the rest of today looked like this:
Yes, that’s why we tend to try to stick to our schedule as much as possible.
Ok, I thought we should start with the very basics. It’s important to know how to hold your camera so you can decrease potential camera-shake and get clearer photos.
I know I need a lot more practice doing these recordings and remember that English is not my first language so if I sound funny or say funny things that’s why. Feel free to leave honest feedback.
Back when I was filling college applications, a common question I had was, “What’s your favorite movie?”
Dead Poet’s Society.
That was, and still is, and likely will forever be my favorite movie. I have seen many other movies that I loved. But none has come near this one. This movie touches my soul and reminds me of so many important things:
Make your days count. Your time on this earth is limited. Sooner than you think, it will all be over and you’ll be food for worms. How are you going to make your days count? Make your life extraordinary.
Change your perspective. Look at things from a different point of view. Things don’t look the same everywhere. Don’t think about what they are thinking. What are you thinking?
Don’t let your poems be ordinary. They can be about simple things. Yet they can still be deep. Just don’t let them be ordinary. What will your verse be?
Find your own way of walking. Don’t imitate others. Make up your own way. Find your walk. Learn to think for yourself.
And now that I am a mother, I see deep, poignant points for parenthood.
Sometimes your kids think everything inside them is worthless and embarrassing. Sometimes it’s not just when you’re kids. But during those early teenage years, this fear can be paralyzing. It is so strong and it should not be ignored or not taken seriously. It is real.
Listen to your kids. Let them show you who they are. Don’t chalk it up to passing whim. Look for the passion. Believe it. Let them see your faith in them. They might be young but they are not stupid. They deserve your respect.
Your kids are not here to live the life you imagined. Don’t put pressure on them. The sacrifices you made were your choices, not theirs. They are here to live their own life. Make their own choices. Walk their own path. Let them. Even better, hold their hand. Support them.
I think in so many ways, teenagers are more fragile than babies. And yet we don’t remember that. We take care of babies so diligently. But we are often infuriated with our teens. I truly hope that I can remember this when my kids are teenagers.
A teacher can make a permanent different in your kid’s life. Choose your kid’s teachers carefully. And be thankful for the good ones. They are rare. Very rare.
All from a two-hour movie. How could it not be my favorite?
All I needed to hear was in the first fifteen minutes: seize the day.
A little leaf being born. I love how the young leaves have that light, strong green compared to the older deep, dark ones.
And here’s Nathaniel. He is sitting up unassisted for longer periods now. Maybe 2-3 minutes.
And those feet. Those wonderful feet.
A relaxing uneventful day here. I don’t think I accomplished one thing and I feel ok about it. I’m going back to work soon, gotta enjoy these last few days. Here’s to a great weekend.
I’ve done the book a week thing before. Twice. And both times I loved it. So I want to do it again. I miss reading. A lot.
I am not sure it will work with the baby, David, work, art, and everything else I am trying to do but I’m going to try. So here is my list for the rest of this year. There are more books here than weeks left but I wanted my list a bit bigger in case my mood changes and I want more choices.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Devil in the White City
The Black Swan
The Road
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Knitting Circle
Julie and Julia
The Book Thief
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Good in Bed
Twenties Girl
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Shack
Home Repair?
Love Walked In
The Girl with No Shadow
What I wish I knew when I was 20
The Last Time They Met
The Wonder Spot
The Poisonwood Bible
The Unaccustomed Earth
In the Woods
The wishing year
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Personal Development for Smart People
Handle with Care
If you have other books to recommend, please tell me. Especially if they are great reads and hard to put down!!
You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you’d like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don’t have to but I’d appreciate a link back if you do use them.
Since we just passed the nine year mark, I’ve decided to try some new things for the blog. Mostly to keep myself regular and posting everyday and also a chance to try out some things I’ve wanted to for a while. So I made a little schedule for myself and as a reminder to myself I am going to post it here and do my best to keep to it.
photos
I will still keep posting daily photos. I want to take more “non family” photos so I will attempt to do more of that. I will still have daily Nathaniel since we’re still in his first year and I promised I will take photos every day in his first year. I will make sure to have at least one photo of David every week. One photo of myself every week. And monthly (ideally more frequently) photos of me and the kids and Jake and the kids and all four of us. Let’s see how this goes.
Here’s a schedule for non-photo posts I want to make daily:
Mondays: I will post a video of something. Either a photoshop/digital tip or a non-digital technique etc.
Tuesdays: A new layout/mixed media art, etc.
Wednesdays: A digital download package. It will have anywhere from 7 to more digital elements in it.
Thursdays: My weekly tag.
Fridays: Books. I am starting to read more and will challenge myself to read a book a week (more coming on this) and on Fridays I will write about the book I read that week.
Saturdays: A photo tip. This will be a tip on photography. Technicals, how to improve, how to use your camera, etc. Just my compilation of this information.
Sundays: A new creative therapy catalyst.
My plan is to also post at least 3 longer journaling-type entries a week. When I look back upon my years of posting here, besides the photos, those are my favorite posts. Here’s to hoping I can make that happen.
David caught a ladybug today. He was really gentle and waited patiently until I changed to my macro lens and snapped this shot.
And this one. I love how his wings are folded but out.
The little one and I sat outside in the backyard as David played.
We both watched him and smiled.
And he smiled right back.
The joy of my life. I’m feeling better. Things are starting to fall in sync a little bit and the baby is sleeping a bit better. I see small flickers of light in the distance. Just small ones for now, but light nonetheless…
This week’s question is: “What kind of goddess am I?”
Well the first thing that came to my mind, as usual, was someone who loves a lot. But I’ve done a lot of love themed ones lately so I wanted to do something different. I decided to make this one about nature. Nature is what calms me and makes me peaceful. Nature is what centers me. Nature. I am so thankful for it.
This tag was inspired by the amazing Rebecca Sower who awes me each and every single time she makes a piece of art. I pulled out a few nature-colored things I had and just let myself go. I did this really quickly and videotaped myself doing it just as an experiment. It was my first time videotaping so parts of it are off-camera. Apologies. I’ll do better next time. The only thing I added after the movie was some stitching. That’s it.
The song is “Fell in Love with a Boy” by the amazing Joss Stone.
I am combining Emily Falconbridge’s art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here.
Nothing like a few wicker baskets. Especially ones full of fabric.
Nathaniel loves sucking his thumb lately. He’s found it and he uses it liberally to calm himself down. I think he looks so cute.
For the first time since I started putting him in his bed, he’s been sleeping for over 45 minutes. I know that as soon as I type these words, he will wake up. But, for now, I am just thankful for the magic of it. May it continue.
David’s teacher visited today. I can’t believe he’s only got one more year of preschool. He’s growing up way way too quickly.
