Polka Dots

It's Thursday and I'm really getting my list of "Things to bring on vacation" made. This past weekend, I bought a set of double-sided rubber stamps in letters and numbers. I've been having fun using them in my journal all week:



I've been having so much fun, in fact, that I want to bring my stamps and a few paints on our trip. But what do you do when the stamps are cut and they no longer fit in the ugly hard plastic box they came packaged in?

Well, I had a wonderful creative solution. I pulled out a white and blue polka dot crib sheet that I recently purchased for my fabric stash box for $1.00 at the thrift store. I whipped up two adorable and funky drawstring pouches for the stamps. One for the letters and one for the numbers and miscellaneous things like: @, #, $, &, ".
The best part: it took me less than 10 minutes to make them. The end result makes packing them a dream. What do you think?

Wishcasting Wednesday and my new pen pal

This week's Wishcasting prompt is What do you wish to remember? My head is like a huge filing cabinet overstuffed with scenes of my life; so many different memories and experiences. Here is just a small sampling of the things I wish to remember:

1. I wish to remember every hard stone that got lodged in my shoes during this journey of mine. Without those stones, I wouldn't be where I am today.

2. I wish to always remember the births of my children.

3. I wish to always remember the first date I had with Breen.

4. I wish to always remember every moment of our wedding.

5. I wish to always remember the multitude of blessings I have been given.

6. I wish to always remember that there are so many amazing people to connect with on this planet.

7. I wish to always remember that I've been given a chance at a whole new life and to never waste a single minute of it.

I can't believe I have been so late in mentioning my new pen pal, Erika. A few months ago, I got involved with a pen pal project here in the blogging community. I love the art of letter writing and I miss those days of getting something other than bills and junk mail from the mailman. I love the deeper personal connections that we can make. Erika and I have exchanged packages. She sent me the most awesome box filled with good things: candy, hot chocolate, pictures and a crocheted turtle AND A HANDWRITTEN LETTER :))It was such a treat. Thank you Erika!

Here's a new necklace I made yesterday:


Here's Breen crossing the finish line on Sunday:

Tuesday and lots of pictures

My computer has been out of commission for a while but Breen has brought it back to life! Still hot here but I'm trying not to complain too loudly. One of the reasons I love living in this part of the country is because I get to experience all four seasons. This week is pretty much about getting ready for our honeymoon. Everyone is going somewhere: Max is going to Tennessee, Kendall is going to Maryland and we are headed to the west coast. A few weekends ago, just before the computer crashed, we took a family day to the beach. Here are some highlights:

Monday morning

It rained hard here last night. I love a good thunder and lightening storm. We've been really fortunate to this point with the weather. It's been a fairly mild summer...until now. August approaches in a few days and with it, muggy days and hot nights for sleeping. We've got a window unit in our bedroom but I just can't get comfortable. Too cold, my nose is running, the sound is loud, etc. This ties in nicely with a book I'm reading by Donald Miller called Through Painted Deserts: light, God and Beauty on the open road. It's a true story about Donald and his friend Paul who trade the comforts of Big City life in Texas for a road trip to Oregon in a dilapidated old VW Van to find out about themselves. In it he says:

In all our technology, we have lost touch with the earth, our heaters and air conditioners robbing us of the drama of our seasons, our cars keeping our feet from pacing the land, our concrete and our shoes and our carpet delivering us from the feel of unprocessed earth. We live on top of the world and not in it.

And I can't help but be smacked in the face with this truth. We are a society that is so used to finding ways to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Cold? Turn up the heat. Hot? Turn on the AC. Then there is the whole issue of feeling like everything has to be bigger, better and upgraded. What's wrong with being uncomfortable? Some of our greatest learning lessons are right there begging to be dealt with but we don't want the discomfort. So we run away from the discomfort and keep being presented with the same lessons over and over for years and years until the dysfunction becomes a woven fabric of our lives. What's so fantastic about stock piling our life with bigger and better? If I have a huge home with a big flat screen TV does it make me happier? If anything, it just provides more space for my kids to go off and isolate and more joy for the credit card companies that are feeding off of our inability to say NO to more possessions.

I've been home for a few weeks now. This time has been really valuable for me. I'm finding myself wanting to step out of my comfort zone more and more. I've spent a lot of years running from the discomfort; it's time to get down to the real stuff that my life is made of. There is so much beauty, so much love and so much possibility.

A brief introduction to Alice....

Now that Helen is nearly done, it's time to introduce you to Alice. Alice (as in Alice in Wonderland) used to be a neglected, unattractive over sized ottoman frame. I've had the ottoman for ages. In fact, she almost got thrown in the trash when I moved from my old house. But something told me to drag her along with me. She was nameless until yesterday when Breen came home from work, took one look and declared that he was seeing Alice in Wonderland. This is one way ideas are born. I've said it before and I'll say it 1000 times again: my husband brings so much inspiration and color to my life; he's the indescribably beautiful crayon that was always missing from my box of Crayola Crayons.

So this morning, I started to research Alice in Wonderland lines and wacky colors/patterns. I'm envisioning a wild ottoman with Alice quotes all over it. The seat will most likely be hand painted canvas with strips of black and white fabric sewn on in strategic places. I bought 3/4 yard of the harlequin fabric for Helen's seat and since I hate to waste things, I'm using what's left on Alice. I'm sure she won't mind....

Be patient with my photos please. Since my computer was wiped out by a virus, I have no post processing software. It's kind of like going out of the house without a trace of make-up and hoping that you don't run in to an old friend in the produce aisle!

Here's Helen:



Here's the beginning of Alice:

Wishcasting Wednesday...what do you wish to tell the world?

I feel like I've abandoned my blog lately...it's only been a few days. On Monday, I made the unfortunate mistake of clicking on a link that I thought was sent by my brother. It wiped out my computer and Breen is in the process of reinstalling my programs. For now, I'm using a laptop but I'm still disgusted that there are cyber losers out there that spread viruses just to be mean. Now, I'm skeptical of every e-mail that comes my way and find myself deleting so much without giving it a second thought. The world is an interesting place. We have so much going on out there that people have become skeptical of each other. Just on my own street, I hear people fighting with each other and watch neighbors get out of their cars and walk straight to the front door without so much as a nod.

I wish the world knew that strength is found in numbers; that's how community is built. Community is built on the willingness for people to extend kindness to each other; not by closing the front door at the end of the day and living inside of your head.

I wish the world could see that a little friendliness and a smile go much further than fighting and isolation.

I wish the world could see that we are all passengers on this big bus called the Universe. Get your ticket, climb on board and extend some kindness to the other passengers.

I wish the world could know that each and every person on the planet could have what they desired...if we only knew how to ask for it and have faith that it is there for us.

I wish the world knew that fighting and screaming with each other only drowns out the quiet places in our hearts that we need to hear.

Contemplation

Some mornings find me still lounging in my husband's boxers sipping coffee long after he's left for work and the dishes are still piled up and the laundry still needs to be switched up and the resumes need to be send out. I contemplate:

The sense of time
The hours and how they can be spent
Destiny
Faith
The feel of a new writing pen
Conversations (or lack of) with my children just an hour before
New ideas
Old patterns
Renting a bulldozer to create new paths

And these hands.....


They contemplate

Why the same hands that write down a million ideas are the same hands that don't always make the ideas come to life

The feel of paint on them

The lines of my husband's body

The odd combination of my mother's big knuckles and my paternal grandmother's slender fingers and how genetics and generations really do shape our patterns

The next word to be written

The next food ingredient to be felt

And these feet....


They contemplate

The many miles they have traveled

The places they want to go

The dance steps they want to dance

The perfect inked circle on my left ankle that constantly serves to remind me to walk a life in balance

The feel of my daughter's feet touching mine under the Dining Room table. Even when we are feeling hurt and can't find the words, we find the tiniest ways to communicate.

Walking barefoot and feeling the earth and sand and pavement under my feet

How, so many years ago, the bottom of my foot was gashed open from a heavy glass that was thrown at me by an abusive boyfriend. It was a long journey over the years but I came to an absolute understanding that I would never be treated badly by anyone ever again. I have a real problem to this day when I see women being treated (and accepting) this kind of behavior from men. Take your feet, stand up tall and walk down a different road.