Friday Happy Hour: Desperately Seeking Motivation



Early morning view from my window.

I got jack diddly squat done this week. I might have made one good meal. I had a few good ideas, but they sat on the shelf while I played “Words with Friends”. There is a pile of pictures and frames on the dining room table that have been sitting patiently since Sunday waiting to be hung, just glad they are not locked away in a trunk anymore. Something smells in the kitchen and it’s probably the garbage. My kids are bored with nothing to do – homework I say! – but at last that’s done. I don’t think I got dressed before noon once. I guess you could say I have lost focus already.

 I wake up wanting to do something fabulous with my day. The sunrise spreads little rays of hope that I will really do something creative and new and special with my precious time. But before long time gets plucked away from me. The minutes are squandered and I am stuck somewhere between fear and the internet. I have all the resources at my finger tips but what if I step out on the wrong path? What if I finally get around to writing, but not one reads it? What if I make a cute bird print, but the idea for a four foot abstract would have been better? What if the laundry still needs to be switched over?

How easy it seems to get lost in our own desperate attempts to start something new. When I was a kid the future seemed overflowing with possibilities. I could be a dancer, a teacher, an artist, a veterinarian…there was an endless parade of choices before me. Nothing has changed except the time crunch and my mountain of dreams crushing me alive. So I put them all aside and focus on the job I usually know best - taking care of monkeys. It’s easier than climbing the mountain as these excuses keep rolling in one after the other.

I’ll do it one day, you’ll see. I’ll start painting or writing a novel or start a mass media frenzy…as soon as I sort through my closets and clean out my mind, put the Kindle down and stop postponing my future. You’ll see…if you keep following me…

Until then I owe one person a copy of the hand-carved lino print that I said I was doing, but have managed to procrastinate yet again. But hey, despite having no motivation what-so-ever, I am still having the best week ever. I still have the comfort of my home and my family to keep me happy!

Tell me how you have the motivation to keep going with your dreams? How do you find the MoJo to have the best week ever? (if you do I will add you to my list of recipients to receive my new print, which I absolutely promise I am going to get around to doing in just a very short little while from now...you'll see.)  

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”  -Albert Einstein



Hello Monday! Why Monday?

Why get excited when there is a whole week of work, of school, of chores, of marking off the to-do list before Friday ever gets here? Why celebrate a day that is usually reserved as the least favorite day of the week? Why look forward to the dredge known as Monday?  

Why? Because Monday needs love too.

Monday is a new beginning.

Monday sets the tone.

Monday is the first day of the best week ever.

And I love Monday!



Now you know I will be dedicating a new post to my other favorite day of the week. Now you get to enjoy more regularly scheduled ramblings from your (almost, but not quite) favorite blogger. And now I have one more thing to add to my to-do list and I am glad to be doing it!

But I implore you...what do you want me to share with you that will keep you coming back all year long? Maybe even tell your friends and have them take a peak onto the musings of this slightly nutty, sometimes serious writer, artist, mother, queen-of-the-house, woman who has too much to do, too much to say and damned if she doesn’t just keep on trying?

If you have never left a comment, now is the time to do it. When Friday rolls around, it’ll be Happy Hour and it also means I will picking a random comment to....

*win a signed print of my new hand cut lino print*

…..so come on and leave some advice, share the blog, follow me on Facebook…give to me and I promise I will give back tenfold!

Thanks, and have a happy Monday!

Friday Happy Hour: Laughing Out Loud

With the fearful strain that is on me night and day,

if I did not laugh I should die. ~Abraham Lincoln

Sometimes you just have to do it. You NEED to laugh. It’s necessary to laugh. And sometimes I forget such a simple thing. I get so busy getting everything “done” that I forget to have fun while I am doing it. I forget to laugh. Sure I’ll chuckle at a sitcom and smile when the kids give me a hug out of the blue. But bust out laughing, tears down your face laughing, milk through your nose laughing, peed a little bit laughing…that’s rare and it’s a shame. Honestly, I don’t think life is meant to be so serious. There is more than enough news to bring us down, but laughing and poking fun at the sheer humanity of this crazy life is intelligence at its finest.

This week was the best week ever. This week I laughed a lot. Here are just a few ways I managed to make it happen:

• Bossypants by Tina Fey. Must, must, must read. Laughed at every single word. She brings comedy to the playground and doesn’t care if we have to make fun of the cut-off sweatshirt and legwarmers…or the hair growing on our chins and the mountain women still have to climb for equality.

• The Colbert Report is back on my tv now that I signed up for Hulu Plus. Of course you can watch full episodes right on his site. I don’t watch news from any other source. His truthiness is all I need.

• An Epic Fail. What can I say, except that laughing at other people falling down is hilarious.

• This article by Marc Morford. Altogether it’s a bright way to look at life, but the humor in his intelligent way of getting a point across and the wry use of the English language makes me want to read it over and over again.

• Googling Santorum and finding that the definition fits. (do not do this if you are squeamish or prude!)

• Natalie Dee – America’s favorite cracker. Followed by The Oatmeal and Toothpaste for Breakfast. All slightly offensive, just the way I like it, and all of them make me Laugh Out Loud.

What made you laugh this week? What made this the best week ever?

Hello Monday! What's Your Word?

I struggled through the first day of this year trying to say goodbye to 2011. I held on tight as it put up a good fight. I was not ready to move forward. It’s just that I am a silly sentimental fool and I’ve never been comfortable when I am aware of time passing. When I was a child I remember agonizing over the end of summer when Dad would cover the pool for winter, knowing that another season of my youth had zipped by me. That’s how I felt yesterday while putting all of the Christmas decorations away, knowing when I see them again we will all have seen another year through. In 1982 I got sad knowing I wouldn’t be a kid forever, and it is only magnified a million times in 2012 when I know my boys won’t be kids forever. Yes, 2011 was that good of a year and I tried dragging out the final days as slow and sweet as possible. But now we are on day two of 2012 and I have a feeling if I face it with my usual “Happy Hour” attitude, I can make this year even sweeter.

So, before routine settles back into our daily lives and once again I forget to be melancholy about the ticking clock, I am preparing to make a few resolutions to ensure I am making the best of another great year. You see, I believe in these sorts of things…things that stop your life for a moment and make you evaluate if you’re giving it your best shot. I believe that every day can be a new start to the beginning of a new year, but the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to make a new start.

But how does she do this in addition to her crazy monkey schedule you ask? A few years back, a creative, crafty blogger named Ali Edwards started a trend of picking one word to represent your whole year. One word to help you set goals and make improvements. One little word to replace a long list of resolutions. This is my third year participating and I have chosen the word FOCUS.  I am aware that I get easily distracted from the things I want to accomplish, I let menial stuff get in the way of what’s important and I lose sight of the big picture or the simplest moment when I let life get out of focus.  

I will focus on the needs of my family and not short change them the time they deserve. I will focus on what’s important or useful in my home and get rid of everything else. I will focus on filling my mind with useful information, education and good advice and not allow the rest to fill my head. I will focus on reading and writing instead of aimless internet surfing. I will focus on the world outside my doors and enroll my boys in outdoor activity. I will focus on healthy eating for everyone in this house. I will focus on doing art, not just reading or talking about it, and then I will share it with the world. I will focus on being more mindful of my words and taking the time to listen to others first, before I have determined what to say next. This is the year where one little word inspires me to live a better life; where the ticking of the clock becomes a testament of time well spent.

FOCUS

“It is a process of diverting one's scattered forces into one powerful channel.” James Allen

So, how will you start 2012? How will you make it the best year ever? What’s your word?

Friday Happy Hour: Year End Wrap Up

Just as I become accustomed to writing "2011" on everything, it’s time to switch it up. Just yesterday I was trying to wrap my head around the idea of a new millennium…but now we are well into the next thousand years. And it’s amazing how much has changed in just this short amount of time. We have hand-held devices that practically control the weather and I have a teenager that practically runs the house. In a blink of an eye it all changes. And if we are doing something right, we learn and grow and change with the times. Our hearts grow bigger, our minds open to new ideas, and we become aware in this finite time that there is still so much to be done and so much love to share. We must keep moving forward with our eyes set on the year ahead of us.

But like most year-end reviews, there is a place to reflect and see what went right and what didn’t work so we can make a few adjustments in the coming year. I believe in lists and resolutions, commitments and revolutions. I believe the time is now and the answers to the future are entwined with the actions of our past. I believe that in the beginner’s mind all things are possible, but the expert’s there are few (Shunryu Suzuki.)  I believe that the children are our future and we are making a mess of it. I believe there is still plenty of time to turn this ship around.  I believe that compassion is more important than how much I get in my tax return. Here are a few other things I learned this year:

·         I believe that reaffirming how I feel in a written blog has made me a more positive person. Writing regularly was one of my better choices this year. But regularly letting time get sucked away on useless internet surfing was one of my poorer decisions.

·         Living in the moment was a skill that I began to develop this year resulting in far less anxiety and worry. Conversely I have not taken enough action towards long term goals for myself or my family leaving me to wonder how we will tackle all of our plans for the next year.

·         I feel closer to my extended family that ever before, but it leaves a hole in my heart that cannot be filled when we are always so far away.

·          I have learned that art fills my soul, but sadly I must cut out the crafts if I am ever to make progress as an artist.  

·         I have enjoyed my boys and tried to soak in every moment, every hug and every wish, forgetting that I can let go and allow them to do it on their own.

·         I have rediscovered that my husband is my very best friend, but often times I forget to be a good friend to him. 

·         I have hungered for knowledge, forgetting that ignorance is bliss.

·         I have dreamt big and still fell short.

·         And most importantly, this year I have learned the secret of true happiness is wrapped up in one little word – gratitude.

This is 2011 in a nutshell. I can learn from the ups and downs and all the in-between to help make the next year even better. But the one thing I know for sure is that this was the best year ever! What about you? What ups and downs did you learn from to make this your best year ever?

Friday Happy Hour: No Gifts Please!

Birthdays seem to come more frequently the older you get. When you turn eight a year is only 1/8^th of your life; when you turn 38 it’s 1/38^th and as that number grows it just magnifies how fast time speeds by you. I’ve flip flopped all year over my feelings about being in my late 30’s now and that there is no denying that I am aging. How can I pull a muscle in my back just reaching over to put on a sock? Are those sun spots? Will I actually have to color my hair for the first time ever to maintain my redhead status? And I find that I am squinting to read every now and then. And so it goes.

But I heard something the other day about aging (not that I could remember for the life of me where I heard it.)  I heard that I should embrace it wholeheartedly, for not everyone is afforded the opportunity to grow old. And at that moment I found new resolve to never regret the experience of adding another year to my life. Every wrinkle will be the sign of a life well spent and every grey hair will be a sign of three loud boys running wild and keeping me on my toes. There is no better way to say I am alive, than another birthday celebration!

There is one catch, though, to all the confetti throwing and cake eating…celebrate with me, but no gifts please! About three years ago I canceled birthday gifts for the rest of my life. I’m serious! I imagined if I were lucky enough to live 95 years, how many bottles of smelly lotions would I obtain? How many times would my kids forget to get something and in embarrassment ignore me all together instead of just picking up the phone or stopping by for a chat? And I am sure the money could be used for noble causes like saving kittens from drowning, but the truth is probably more selfish than that. I don’t need random stuff, I just need you! And time well spent is the best gift of all; that I am serious about!

So this birthday is the best birthday ever and here are a few reasons why:

·         Everyone in our home has found the Christmas spirit!

·         I have really amazing friends.

·         My husband can still impress me (speaking of aging well!)

·         I see small miracles happen every day.

·         My home is warm.

·         I have intelligent, capable children that already seek out their future.

·         I have more creative ideas than I have time fulfill, but I’m trying!

·         I am afforded the opportunity to do the job I have always dreamed of doing - stay home and care for my family, or as I have self titled: I am Queen of the Home!

So cheers to me and another year! Raise a glass in celebration and tell me what made this your best week, or birthday, ever?

Friday Happy Hour: When My Heart Finds Christmas

There have been times in my past that I was exhausted in November just anticipating the work to be done in December. I've only mentioned the absurdity of it all a few times. The commercialism, the perfect planning on my part, the late nights and long shopping days just to pull it all off for one day!? I've even lamented the days of my childhood when magic still existed and everything just wonderfully happened (becuse of another mother exausting herself!)

But the season need not be dreaded! It's warm in our house this year with all kinds of anticipation. The kids are excited to participate. My husband has all kinds of plans up his sleeve to make it a fun Christmas season. We have already indulged in holiday activities. We even spent our Thankgiving vacation in a festive holiday theme park. This year is looking up in the grand picture of Christmases past.

How did the whole home find Christmas again? It's a simple secret....I found Christmas in my heart. Looks like when mom has it, the good spirit spreads. It's a simple secret that is applied throughout the whole year, but doubles when December comes. So, yes, I just made up my mind and made plans to get everyone involved. I wanted the whole 25 days to be celebrated. To my surprise, as soon as I asked, everyone was more than willing - they were coming up with their own plans to make the season bright!

This has been the best week ever! I must share with you the fun things we are doing:

• I am making handmade cards again for the first time in years. You can see from the picture that it is not a quick throw together, so if you want one delivered to your mailbox, you have to put your request in now!
• Taylor and Gavin are actively making presents for their little brother. And for their grandparents. It's wonderful to see them excited to be doing special things for family.
• Finn wakes up every morning singing Jingle Bells. Melts my heart!
• David has taken it upon himself to build Lego tables and platforms to slide under the beds for each of the boys. Guess when everyone decides to get making, so does Dad!
• We started the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year. Finn named him Nickelman. Fun every morning!
• Advent calendars for all. Yes I made that, too!
• The movie "Elf." I watch this one year round and can recite it word for word. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!
• Pies, cakes, cookies, candy.....oh my!
• We are making fleece tie blankets for the Linus charity that gives handmade blankets to kids in the hospital. Easy to do while we cuddle on the couch watching movies.

Tell me, what made this your best week ever? What are you doing to help your whole family find Christmas?

Friday Happy Hour: All Hands On

The world is abundant of mass produced goods and digital replicas, prepackaged meals and plastic lawn ornaments. On the back of every plate is a stamp that says made in China and cards now arrive in your inbox, not your mailbox. We are easily detached from all this manufactured stuff. Our merchandise in theft proof packaging is devoid of human contact, has traveled thousands of miles and will crowd our landfills soon enough. But there is something magical about handcrafted goods because the human factor still exists. Someone actually has to take the time and put their heart into making the very thing you will use, devour, admire or hang on your wall. It seems so simple, but these little things are the very nature of our humanity.

I am a maker of these things, so it comes as no surprise that I am building a reputation of promoting a handmade revolution. We can be real for a moment – I still shop at Target and some nights DiGiorno will do for dinner. But it is so satisfying when I can do it myself. I love to see the moment when all the ideas come together and something tangible and real has come of the time and talent well invested. Most of the online communities I frequent are full of do-it-yourself kind of people. In fact they afford me more ideas than I have time to tackle! But I know there are enough artisans making quality products that I can substitute some of the things on my big box shopping list for beautiful handmade gifts.

 Do you have projects planned, decorations to make, cards to send, and cookies to bake? There is something authentic to giving a homemade gift, but if you are not the making type, have you considered buying handmade from sites like etsy.com or renegadehandmade.com or doing a search for local shops in your area? In the spirit of my effort to “Occupy Christmas” and take the commercialism out of the season, I have been compiling lists of great and affordable handmade items either to make….or buy from a real live person that handled it with care and love. In an effort to keep you out of the stores on Black Friday (which now starts on Thanksgiving!!) I am hoping you will see another way to give gifts this year. Handmade is just the beginning, but certainly the most gratifying solution for my creative soul!

Spending the week elbow deep in handmade goodness has made this the best week ever. Here are a few of the lovely - practical and rather reasonably priced -things I have been admiring (links under each item):

Strawberry Fairies

Bird and Branch Necklace

Slugs - Rainboot Liners

Sherlock Holmes Book Safe & Flask Holder

Bow and Arrows

BBQ Spice Rubs

Red Bird Print

Paint Your Own

Tonight I will be buzzing about in my studio, making things for you. So, will you join me? Pour some eggnog or a hot buttered rum and tell me what you are making to make this the best week ever?

Friday Happy Hour: Make it Meaningful

I may have about one week left of golden fall leaves before they have all fallen from the trees. The cool autumn winds have replaced humid summer days and sweaters have replaced shorts. The sun is shining and the days are getting shorter. I think of home. I think of family. I soak in the calm before the storm of a busy holiday season.  I briefly enjoy orange and yellow before red and green take over. I want to snuggle up and read a good book and make pies and share long visits with friends. Autumn is the perfect season to realign myself with all that is kind and true, reminding my soul that there is so much goodness left to be found in this world. It is the perfect season to think of giving.

If Thanksgiving is the season of gratitude, then what follows in December should be a manifestation of those feelings. I keep thinking about how I want to share the love I feel. My heart is full and there are people in my life that I want to say thank-you for another wonderful year. And who can deny that first look on the children’s faces in the wee hours of Christmas morning? So, every year when the leaves have all descended from their homes above and made a pile big enough for jumping, I know it’s also time to finalize the game plan for the Holidays.

This must be the reason we all get caught up in the buying frenzy. But the mounting tab for useless plastics and smelly lotions boggles my mind. It’s always been a bit unsettling to me to say I think of you all year fondly with this gift pack I picked up in the checkout line of Costco stamped “made in China.” It’s no secret that there have been more than enough Christmases past that I have resented the whole process. I was feeling a bit Bah Humbug about the whole thing again, until I stopped for a day or two and began to let this simple fact soak in…the change begins with me. After all, it’s what I have been saying about everything else this year. For all the times that ringing in the New Year has left me exhausted and saying “Merry Giftmas” was more appropriate; I vow to do it differently this time. I will give with meaning, or I won’t give at all. I will not tire myself of shopping, wrapping, shipping and checking the credit card statement; making, baking, toiling and slaving for naught. It will come from the heart, or it won’t come at all! And more importantly – my kids know it!

We are all on board this year and I can honestly say I am surprised! This pleasant turn of direction has made it the best week ever! Let me give you a few more reasons why:

·         I asked the kids to make gifts for each other and their relatives and they were excited and full of ideas. Who would have known?

·         Yummy pumpkin everything.

·         Everyone in this house has agreed that less would be more this year.

·         Harry for the Holidays.

·         We are starting a service project together. Handmade fleece blankets for kids in the hospital and the best part is that we can snuggle up on the couch watching movie together while we do it!

·         I’m thinking outside the box for special gifts from local shops or services in hopes to make mall time minimal and American Made possible.

·         David has a lot of leave time he needs to use up. Which means lots of family time this season. Which is in fact the best gift of all!

So, as fall is wrapping up and Christmas swings into full gear, how will you make it meaningful? How will you give from the heart? How will you make it the best week ever?

Friday Happy Hour: Share the Love

At this very moment I have a full pantry and a full fridge and more than enough food to put a full spread on our table, despite the skyrocketing prices of food. It’s shocking to see our food bills climb when the paychecks stay the same. It means making different choices about what we buy and prioritizing how we spend our money. Less going out and more time eating in. Less premade food and more homemade meals. Far more homes are growing gardens and turning to traditions we haven’t seen in ages like canning, bread making and long term food storage. Most families I talk to have become keenly aware of the need to be more self reliant and less self indulgent. It feels good to take charge and still come away with full bellies in a warm home.

Unfortunately cuts backs for everyone also means cut backs in giving. America’s food banks are falling short at a time when the amount of people in need has increased.  Yep, I’m getting on my soap box. There are many of us who have enough to share with those who have too little. My boys hauled in 40 pound backpacks to school today because they were told that last year the county’s food drive fell thousands of pounds short of what they needed. And I think we were among the many who forgot to donate. Well, not this year! I figure that if I could pick up a couple extra items every time I went food shopping and drop it in the donation box…and if I could encourage everyone I know to do this…well, you get the idea.

So, yeah, for Happy Hour this week, I am buying canned goods instead of drinks! How about you? Will you buy beans instead of beer, macaroni instead of margaritas, or stuffing instead of soda? Because we have food on our table, it has been the best week ever! Here are a few other things that make it the best week ever:

·         Everyone is healthy (despite a sugar overload).

·         I have found mittens and hats and winter coats that fit everyone, without the need to go shopping.

·         The kids have enthusiastically agreed to help make some Christmas gifts this year.

·         Fall colors in Maryland are amazing and vibrant.

·         When it’s cold out, we have heat.

·         I have two eyes and two hands and a mind that all have the ability to create.

·         Good and kind people have inspired me to look at life in new and wonderful ways every day.

How about you? Do you have enough on your table to have had the best week ever? How do you plan on sharing the Love?