Wednesday, February 22, 2012

who me? go jogging?

yes i did! thanks to my oldest. she introduced me to a simple plan...walk 6 min then jog 1 min. we did it and i survived! we did 3 rounds then a walk. too bad she doesn't live around here, i might need a partner to keep me going. i rewarded myself with a new pair of running shoes! you might not understand why this is such a tremendous achievement for me. i hate going to the gym. i don't like to sweat. i hate exercising. i was never the athletic type (although i do enjoy playing tennis). i am the girl who always got picked last for the team in gym class! (awful childhood memories by the way). the weather is suppose to be gorgeous tomorrow so i look forward to putting my new shoes to use. so one day i will progress to 20 min of non stop jogging, right? well, i'm excited about it. i've always envied people who go jogging on a regular basis. i wish i was disciplined enough. maybe i will be :) i have to do something. everyone tells me that once you turn 40, it's all down hill from there! i refuse to let that happen!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

before and after

i realized that i do enjoy the before and after effect. i just like seeing a blank paper, an empty plate, or a blank canvas and then seeing what creation appears later. i also enjoy seeing a dirty house, cleaning it and then feeling the pride in its transformation after i've worked so hard. i do love to clean (i know i am weird ;)
thought i was done, well almost gave up
so i really struggle with my drawing class. i don't seem to come up with any good ideas, i struggle to stay positive and just get so frustrated. i'm glad i didn't give up on this. i used soft pastels, messy pastels :) kudos to all who have mastered this technique.  i have mixed feelings about this piece but i like the feeling of overcoming that frustration and pushing forward. i look at it and again i am reminded of why i am doing this. i am learning. i am enjoying myself. i may never sell this piece but i'm finally doing it. this is what i've looked forward to doing for so very long.
after a little more work

Saturday, February 11, 2012

valentine's day & the art of letting go

i was on a mission last night. i had to get my valentine's gifts completed to get them to the post office today. forgive me but i forgot where i found the idea to make valentine mints but i decided to give it a try. it was messy but fun. i found these cute little valentine treat bags by martha stewart. they were perfect for my mints!


i didn't want to make traditional red, white, pink, foo foo valentine day cards so i decided to make little owls. i'm trying to use up the stuff i already own and voila...
making cards is a lot of fun. it's somewhat of a childhood pleasure, cutting & pasting.  i vowed not to spend any more money at the hallmark store. i have invested many dollars with them over the years. i've always wanted one of those cricut machines but it was never priority. as i was cutting and designing my little owls i realized "who needs that expensive machine anyway?". 

one thing i am learning in this transformation of mine is the art of letting go...
...let go of the need to be perfect
...let go of the need for acceptance
...let go of the need of approval
...let go of the fear of "messing" up 
...let go of making excuses
...let go of the habit of spending $; the old me would have gone to michaels and spent money on new pretty papers, embellishments, more adhesive material when i haven't even used up what i have already in stock, etc. it's the same principle with cooking. why not use up what i already have before buying new stuff? it forces one to be more creative, right? i'm a work in progress, i did go to michaels to buy those valentine treat bags tho :) baby steps ok?