saturday morning

gotta love it...

david and i love to go to memorial park to ride the trails...what a rush when we hit the "moguls" on our favorite path! (this is where i almost lost a leg the day of graduation.) it's not austin, but it's a perfect start to the weekend.

listen

listen. learn. understand. appreciate. another voice, another perspective. who are you, what can you teach me? everyone has a lesson to give—an interesting story, a bit of advice—be a sponge. absorb, soak, accept, to be a student is a gift. can you accept it?

space to be filled. void. what do we need? love, knowledge, freedom of expression? find your way. move, act, speak loud. a path is one thing, direction is quite another. who drew your map? create your destiny. take the road less traveled. break the rules. defy gravity. just do it. life is a box of chocolates. make lemonade. so many clichés, so little time. make love, not war.

true.joy.

this is my niece...she reminds me how to be a kid when i seem to forget. remember the time when the only thing that mattered in the world was "higher!"...i could push her on the swing for hours, just to see that smile.

pen & paper

i love writing...reading it, reflecting on it, my own, other people's, mmmmm delicious words. this is another entry pulled from an old journal:
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ask me again. on a deserted island? what do I take? pen and paper. no question. it’s all I need. my salvation. my friend. my confidante. memory. history. who will read it? the thoughts flow, can they understand? do they care? who is it for? me? them? the tree that was lost? the ink runs out, the desire remains. to write. to think. to tell the truth. to be heard. powerful. yet underused.

e-mail.text message.phone.fax. what happened? will the mailman become extinct? will you stop printing stamps? old fashioned. archaic. outdated. no time. fast pace. information age has shifted our needs. connection. understanding. Webster’s, Funk & Wagnalls, APA. is it Google, AskJeeves, online news? paper. pen. with feather, ink pot, blotting pad. will my children even know? care? is grandma my last pen pal? an art. penmanship. handwriting grades. is it all computer class and Word documentation? who will carry the torch? who will continue the legacy?

save the trees.

my studio

in preparation for the year of creativity, i have FINALLY started getting my studio in order. we moved into this house over three months ago and i still had boxes!?!?! hopefully i'll be totally done by my birthday next month. here is how it started....

please note: the paintings are by my artist husband...hopefully i'll be adding my own soon!!!

this is after a few weekends of organizing, garage saleing, and fellow artist inspiration...

But don't despair...I WILL get it organized soon!

a.r.t.

this one seems very appropriate as my journey comes full-circle...(written sometime in 2005-2006)

Think outside the box—I’m thinking purple. The ribbon on my wrist. Avocados—paint the picture. Crazy colors everywhere. Color consumes my thoughts. Abstract. Is it art? So many thoughts—my head might explode. Write.write.write. even if it’s messy, hard to read, jumbled, confusing—like my brain. (eggs, drugs, old 80’s commercials) But I’m not. Au natural. The pain is a drug—it masks the other emotions. Always there, a constant reminder of another time. Another dream. Another me. Future. A new life. A new dream. A new me. Like blank canvas, waiting for the artist—bright, vibrant. Make it large. Splash the paint on. Swirls, strokes, art is life. Fresh. New. Full of spirit. To each his own. Free form—flowing—from the heart. Creativity is necessary for life.

thanksgiving prayer

this is something i wrote during my grief journey, i'm sure more to follow regarding this transitional phase of my life...


Thank you for strength – to realize my weaknesses and strive to overcome them.

Thank you for love – to realize its importance every day and cherish its place in my life.

Thank you for laughter – the time to free my heart from all pain and feel true joy.

Thank you for friendship – to see the true meaning reveal itself again and again throughout my lifetime.

Thank you for flowers – to brighten my day and lift my spirits.

Thank you for the sun – for with it the darkness disappears.

Thank you for kindness – in the words of a stranger, who may know just the right thing to say.

Thank you for the future – a planned vacation, anticipated reunion, a new beginning.

Thank you for truth – it is the basis for everything real in my life.

Thank you for courage – to move forward, to accept change, to believe again.

Thank you for the sunrise – with its glory comes a new day.

Thank you for time – to learn, to grow, to fulfill my dreams.

Thank you for family – with its definition ever-expanding and its arms always open.

Thank you for life.

inspiration

the biggest inspiration for this project has been a friend's recommendation to check out Brene Brown's website Ordinary Courage and her link to the incredibly talented Kelly Rae Roberts and Taking Flight. a whole new world has opened up that i never knew existed. all of these ridiculously talented women, all writing and creating and communicating and part of an unbelievable community. these are all topics i'm sure to address over the next year, as i myself attempt to write, create, communicate, and become part of the blog community.

the idea is to post at least once a week, reflecting on one specific "discovery" for the previous week. the ambiguity of the word entices me...it's kinda like "journey," it can take on a myriad of meanings. spiritual, travel, personal, grief, a rockin' band from the 80's... i began my journey of self-discovery somewhere during the quarter-life crisis and kicked it up a notch as a social work student. lots of reflection, lots of soul-searching, lots of new discoveries.

i also plan to make a creative/artisitic representation of each entry to keep it interesting. even if my sister is the only person who ever reads it...i'm doing this for me, and invite anyone who needs a little creative boost to journey along with me.

the year of discovery

I'm planning to kick-off the official "year" on my birthday, 07.20.09, but plan to start cataloging some past writing over the next month.