what i will do more of in 2010:

lay in fields of grass looking at the sky
ride more bikes
wear as much color as possible
grow a serious force-to-be-reckoned-with strawberry patch
eat more ice cream
plant more flowers
feel my bare feet in the beach sand often

2009 lessons

2009 - what a year. 2010 - what a year it will be. i am looking forward to a new year....this last month has been intense.

what i've learned or learned more of in 2009: things are what you make them, life is challenging but worth it, life is complicated but worth it...and even more so Because it's complicated...., it's good to cut the strings to your past sometimes, friends are SO SO SO valuable, always find time for the things you are passionate about, learn to feel gratitude daily even for the simple things because this is what often determines your mood and joy in life, laugh....a lot, take risks, have fun even if your life isn't exactly as desired....laughter, silliness, funny faces, dancing, and playing is a necessity.
clearly 2009 was yet another year of growth.

2010 theme

secrets. mysteries. untold tales. stories between friends. silliness. acting out. surprises. spontaneity. all of this is on my mind this week. a lot brewing.

I am in the middle of watching Julie and Julia...makes a person want to have a blog with a certain theme...at least in my case it does. The movie also makes me crave buttery rich foods that I can sink my teeth into...mmmm.

As 2010 approaches, I am reminded that I haven't chosen a theme word yet. Does anyone else do this? Last year was 'create joy'...the year before was 'trust'....I think iIam still waiting on the rest of this week to unfold to choose the appropriate word/theme....something I can work towards, or keep in mind. What's your word for 2010?

it's not that easy bein' green

It's not that easy bein' green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves,
When I think it might be nicer being red, or yellow,
or gold
Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy bein' green
It seems you blend in with so many other
ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over,
'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles
on the water,
or stars in the sky

But green is the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly like
And green can be big like an ocean
Or important like a mountain
Or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be,
It could make you wonder why.
But why wonder, why wonder?
I am green, and it'll do fine
And I think it's what I want to be.

~Kermit the frog

change; used as a noun or verb, it's inevitable.

sort of feeling silent these days.
pondering.
absorbing.
situating.

looking back through old journals and notebooks i see how hopeful i was years ago. i believed that people were good, life worked out...if only you believed it would. i now know none of that is true. people aren't always good. they don't do the right things all the time. life isn't fair. bad things happen to everyone. experiences, even with good intentions, can bring pain...suffering...disappointment. so what do we do? how can we prevent this? we do nothing. we can't prevent it. we will suffer. we will be disappointed. we will let ourselves down, and others will let us down. we do it anyway. we live anyway. we love anyway. we risk anyway. we get up every day, make our coffee or tea, and we walk out that door facing adversity with every step we take. we keep a brave face most of the time. if we're good at it, we hide our insecurities, our deep rooted issues and anxieties, and we survive. why? because sometimes, almost always, love conquers hate. love conquers fear. hope outweighs doubt. hope is rooted in a part of us that no fear or anxiety can touch. hope is otherworldly. it is light, not dark. it is real. it radiates. it is contagious. it is necessary. it is what keeps us alive. hope.

i make lists. i make them for everything: groceries to buy, things to organize, things to clean, things to accomplish that day, this week, in a lifetime, things that inspire me, music to buy, items to create, adventures i want to take, etc etc etc.
At times i think i create too many lists...so i quit for awhile....and then i stop sleeping as well...feel more chaotic...can't seem to focus on one task for too long. it's funny because most of the time i end up doing everything else in the world but what's on the list...but somehow this rebelling against the list gets thing done. almost seems to motivate me more. so i continue to make them because that's what i do....that's what we all do. we all have these things about us, things we do in our everyday lives that make us who we are. but instead of having everything mapped out...i have started adding something else to my daily lists....it started awhile back when i read this quote, "you can't expect anything unexpected to happen, if you never do anything unexpected"....so i write down a slot, a space, 'the unexpected'....because inevitably the unexpected ALWAYS happens...even if it's not today, it will tomorrow. it can come in the form of bad news, good news, a visit from a friend, an opportunity to socialize, inspiration that makes you seize the moment and create instead of wash dishes, a sunny day that leaves you craving fresh air instead of staying in.....the unexpected IS life. it can lead you ironically to what in the big picture is 'planned' for your life.....if you choose to seize it. embrace it. relish and wallow in it. the unexpected is breaking out in dance when the moment strikes. it's giving hugs because you must...because you feel it....it's a life that is full....

anyway....so give yourself room to dance around with the unexpected. cause it's gonna come anyway. whether you 'plan' for it or not.

truth.

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny. ~ Albert Ellis

yep. true that.

"create joy" (or your own fun) has been my mantra for a couple of years now. joy isn't something handed to you on a silver platter...it's something we create, it's something we have to become aware of and embrace...........we have to create our own magic when at times life may seem like it's lacking.

a tuesday quote

"It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else seems to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself." ~ralph ellison

dilemma

my dilemma has always been a desire to have a home that is comfy-inviting-well stocked-ready to entertain guests-warm-with fun decor/kitchenware/etc OR simplifying my belongings down to the bare necessities ready to welcome change, new location, travel, etc. I have battled this for years. I want to be able to pack up and go somewhere at the drop of a hat...but my messy disorganized has-too-much-stuff self continues to hold me back. or maybe it's just being disorganized that encumbers me.
i vow from here on out to rid my life of the random things i have....even if they are books, or nifty things that i do use occasionally....i don't NEED all the colorful oh so fun bowls/plates/etc that i adore looking at but really truly only create problems with finding space for them. these things don't define me....they don't make me cool, or more prepared, or anything at all, except more weighed down. if i read a book, i will pass it on to someone else. if i have art supplies i haven't used in months i will either make the time to use them or i will give them to someone that will....(this is a hard one cause sometimes i have things for over a year and then find the *perfect* crafty thing to do with them).
as a person who enjoys changing it up every now and then (repainting a wall a different color, repainting furniture to suit my mood, change out kitchen plates and mugs i use, curtains, etc), this will be a hard task to accomplish. but i will. in the long run it isn't going to matter what material things i've surrounded myself with, but whom i surround myself with...what decisions i make to make my life more joyful and positive, how i challenge my own personal growth as i get older, what risks i choose to take......this is what i want my life to be....and if getting rid of objects that hold no significance hold the key in exploring that more then so be it.
the thing is, is that i'm not married, i have no kids, i have no real obligations that are holding me back. i have only myself that does. the desire to have a family or a home hasn't increased as i've gotten older (though some still insist that i'm in denial...whatever), the only thing that has is the deep embedded soulful desire to explore, to see, to do, to be out in nature, to be on the road, to share, to love, to be happy........i have no idealistic ideas or romantic notions that this will drastically change my life.....i only have a desire to be at peace with the world around me.....anyway, this is what's on my mind this sunny Sunday afternoon.....

10 things i love about fall...

1. the color orange that is in pumpkins, the changing leaves on trees, flowering mums, and sweet potato casserole!

2. anticipation of thanksgiving food

3. the smell of school supplies and start of school....books, pencils, crayons, freshly cut grass on football fields

4. windows open in the car and house

5. the planting of bulbs to bloom in spring

6. roasting marshmallows

7. building fires...burning leaves..and the smell of it all

8. corn mazes!!

9. hot chocolate

10. reading more books

The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.
-r.w. emerson

lots of thoughts brewing these days. opening gates...and striking the strings. more living, and less writing.

it is what it is...

what we do with our time is everything; how we spend it....who we spend it with....what we choose to see when we look out into the world. do we see the litter on the ground? or the flower coming through the sidewalk crack? or are we one of the lucky ones that choose to see both, but focus on the flower anyway? one of my favorite sayings is "it is what it is".....this statement doesn't mean we can't change things, but for me it means exactly what it sounds like....it is what it is....i can accept it and then decide what to do from that moment on. i choose my reaction and my viewpoint. some people go through life thinking that it's supposed to be perfect, that we are meant to be happy all the time, that if we suffer we must not be doing something right. it's absurd. life isn't always fair, we don't always get what we want, things happen we have no control over......it is what it is.....it's deciding to experience joy when it presents itself that matters.....and if it isn't given to us we create it....although in most cases, it is handed to us but we just have to be more aware and appreciative when it shows up on our doorstep. take that joy and hold onto it cause the suffering will inevitably come....a mixture of both...that is a life.

monday sermon....

(emily - dress on backwards - love it)

i suppose we decide for ourselves how our day will pan out. will we let the dogs who incessantly bark all night and into the morning despite the fact we tried to sleep peacefully with the windows open to enjoy the upcoming fall night air ruin our morning? will we let the wrong number that dialed our phone at 7am put us in a bad mood? when we wake up and trip over the carpet (don't know how i managed this) will it piss us off?

i've decided to brush those things away, and try to be in a good mood anyway...or at least a pleasant one. when you create all day it doesn't do much good to be crabby...in fact it's almost impossible to accomplish anything creative when you feel like that (at least it is for me-unless i'm painting or drawing).

i've done my best over the years to change how i react to situations. i can't control the fact that my neighbors dogs bark, or someone calling my phone, or the ridiculously placed carpet (not really but i tripped nonetheless) - but i can control my behavior when these things happen.

i believe we are our reactions....especially as we get older. getting in control over this is key to a more joyful and pleasant life.

okay, preaching is done for the day.

anticipating fall...

i woke up this morning with a clear sensation in my body that fall is approaching. i got overly excited....added pumpkin spice to my coffee grounds and pressed start. then i opened the windows and low and behold it's still summer in georgia. at least my body knows fall will arrive soon - even if it does just mean only opening the windows at night at first.

i feel the need to go out and buy loads of cinnamon candles, banana nut bread, french vanilla coffee, flannel shirts, funky fun colorful socks. though i am truly a summer, go barefoot, wear tank tops, bask in the warm sun kind of girl, i do LOVE the stirring of sensations you feel deep in your core when the seasons change. plus i am looking forward to roasting marshmallows at the firepit and enjoying the hot tub, feeling the brisk cool fall night air on my face. i am getting giddy just thinking of it.

on another note, i have been adding loads of new stuff to the Etsy Shop -

what i know...

we are meant to love each other. to share in each other's life. to connect. to share pain, sorrow, joys, and triumphs. our lives are meant to learn this. to evolve into a bigger understanding of this. this is why we are here.

life living

as a kid i used to spazz....excess energy just had to come out and my body couldn't hardly contain it. emily, my next door neighbors daughter, does the same thing.

all day i have felt this energy vibrating through me. you know how you can sense a change brewing....something stirring....i'm sure it has a lot to do with my birthday coming up, but even still, its there.

perhaps it also has to do with going to the north carolina mountains this past weekend....there was a chill in the air come evening and it felt like fall...knowing seasons will be changing stirs this as well.

how do we sense these things? maybe some of us can't. maybe some of us are just more aware. some resist, some embrace it.

i think being almost 31 is a stepping stone. times goes by faster. priorioties shift and change. new ideas are formed. new desires....some you didn't even realize you had.

i'm looking forward to finding out more. the older you get the more a calmness comes over you. you are more brave. but in other ways more scared. instead of when you are younger and minutes go by so slow, now months fly by, even a year passes by in a blink. you look away and you miss out on experiences you could have had. there is no time for hesistation....

i remember being so scared of splash waterfalls when i was young....it took hours to convince me to ride it, when i finally did it became one of my favorite rides at six flags, still is. this is usually the case with most things in life, with most people.

not anymore. life is a roller coaster park, and i intend on riding every ride.

life and death

yes yes yes to life.

though my dreams at night have been surrounded by death and death/dying themed for some reason, my daily life has been a resounding YES! perhaps it has something to do with creating more, working with colorful beads, the sun, eating more fresh raw veggies....either way, i need it.

so there has been lots of "celebrity" deaths this past week....why is everyone so shocked??? it happens to everyone. why not folks in the public eye? WHY is it such a shock?? it baffles me. i honestly don't get the disbelief some folks have. anyway. we move on from this life....where? i'm not sure...i am curious though to find out at some point, whether its sooner or later doesn't matter.

i am on a mission to learn how to play music. my soul SCREAMS for it. if i can't sing, i'll play. i'm pricing instruments right now. i have a keyboard, harmonica, guitar..but i am thinking banjo is right up my alley.

i'm off to create more and list clearance earrings in etsy shop

BEING SILLY

it's been awhile, nearly a month, since i blogged. wasn't i supposed to be writing in this everyday? oh well. times have been busy.

i don't mind working...but my life requires an EXTREME amount of silliness in it to function in a healthy manner. fortunately i have folks in my life who partake in this with me. and it's even better when it's mixed with business.

Skeleton Keys

comedyofKeys
Originally uploaded by The Artists' Sandbox

my friend Justin makes skeleton key wind chimes......you should all go take a look. he also plays music! you should all go take a listen.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

PLAY

Button Ring in new Etsy shop

I believe in the power of play. of fun. of embracing what you love and not what everyone thinks you should enjoy.

i believe we should try everything we want to. experiment. get creative. get dirty. start projects and don't finish them if you don't want to.

i don't believe in rules. or restrictions. or limits. explore. don't be scared to try something different. push forward and do it anyway.

i don't believe we should EVER stop learning, or growing. i don't believe in 'it's too late'. it's never too late.

a project is in the works....just getting started, but i will share more of it soon.

CLEARANCE EARRINGS

WEDDINGS AND BABIES

i keep wanting to write something in here, but no ideas are really springing forth. the past two months have been insanely eventful.....constantly something happening or going on.....i've barely had time to catch my breath. showers, weddings, funerals, people getting sick, events, birthdays, babies, etc etc etc. i usually like to take a breather during highly social times, but i have yet to be able to. i need time to recharge, and get on an even keel in order to function as a normal healthy human being. it's not that i don't like being around people...i just find it hard to maintain calmness and a steady outlook if i'm not able to get some time alone.

anyway, on a positive note, i have been able to take lots of photos, which i've been wanting to do for quite some time. i've been able to dance, laugh, cut up with new and old friends.

on the other hand....with all these weddings and having babies, moving on......it makes you question just a tad where you stand in your own life. do i want what everyone else seems to want? is that right for me? etc etc.

I went to shelly and will's wedding this past weekend. the above picture is where they got married. stunning, right? even though it was a social event, the rustic natural beauty of this place swept me away....i felt at home and completely at ease. we danced in a barn with a tin roof while the rain poured down. flowers were EVERYWHERE! if you've never been to Neverland Farms in Cleveland Georgia, i would suggest you go...especially right now when everything is green and in bloom.

THINGS TO DO

I started keeping a visual journal/dream life of sorts about 10 years ago. I glued in pictures of things I loved....anything from places, to bedsheets, to colors, to craft projects, to outfits, to quotes, to anything at all that sparked some sort of inspiration inside of me. I've continued to do this throughout the years. It has enabled me to really hone in on what I love and what I'm drawn to. For those of us that have ever wandered through life feeling lost, purposeless, directionless, I think this is a perfect project for finding out what you value.......what stirs you. You might find yourself surprised....especially if you keep it up awhile. Every now and then I would go through this notebook and look at each picture. If it didn't stir anything in me anymore, i would take it out...or cover it up with something new. I began to see a pattern.....so i started incorporating what i could from these pictures into my life. i began using mason jars to drink out of and for vases, i planted sunflowers and zinnias, i painted my kitchen red....you get the point. i tried to figure out what it was about each photo that i loved.....and then as a whole , i tried to understand what the theme was .....why i was drawn to each one and how they related.

anyway, my point is, is that in order to figure out what brings us joy, we have a 'things to do' list first. we owe it to ourselves to live a full, real, genuine, true-to-ourselves life.

simple pleasures. i can't even begin to put into words what an image of a lone tree does for me. It stirs my soul and sets me free! :)

GRATEFUL

there is nothing like shared laughter to soothe a weary soul.
sometimes its exactly what you need.
sometimes it's the only thing that sets you right again.

WHAT FUN IS

definition of fun : a source of enjoyment or pleasure

this definition varies for all of us. what is it for you?

i've been coming up with some new ideas circling around this broad subject. i'll be able to share the new creation soon. but until then, i want to know what fun is for you....road trips? playing games? cooking new foods? playing in a river? taking photos? etc etc?

REST IN THE WORLD

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the prescence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~wendell berry

THAT KIND OF DAY

some days you just don't feel like mustering up the energy to act happy. things keep going wrong. and nothing seems to satisfy.

you question everything you do, everything someone says directed at you. you eye a plane soaring in the air and you wish you were on it, going anywhere but where you are at.

these are the days you really need to sink into every motion you make. folding laundry, washing dishes, cutting vegetables.......make these habits make your life make sense. when you're questioning the big things and aren't finding any meaning, find the meaning in these everyday small things...these nuisances we have to do to keep our life in order. and as you sort your laundry, your life will sort itself out as well.

MAKING ROOM

poor soil. fertilize the earth. prepare for planting of seeds. nurture and tend. wait. wait. wait. seeds sprout. growth. weathering to prepare for outside conditions. more growth. a slowly emerging bloom. explosion of flowers!

that's the way i feel.

lots of ideas and dreams in my head these days. i feel like i'm weeding...making room for the blooms i know are just around the corner.

lots of things to share tomorrow. many photos taken this weekend. until then, take a look at all the clearance jewelry in my Etsy shop - $3.00 and up earrings, necklaces clearanced. like i said, making room.

SILVER LININGS

things fail.
people get sick.
we fall down.
relationships end.
there are betrayals. lies. hurts.
we lose our jobs.
we have to evacuate our homes.

but also,

we persist.
we get to appreciate them and nurture what we have.
we get back up.
we learn from relationships.
we keep those loyal and true even closer to us.
we seek out a new opportunity.
we find out how much people care.

there is usually always a silver lining. we just have to look for it sometimes.

FREEDOM

this is my life.
a constant battle to find balance between different areas in my life. the creating always wins out though.

still in the process of clearing out my physical surroundings of 'stuff'. i need room to grow, to move, to breathe, to not worry about these things i own. anyone who knows me well, knows that i move constantly. i get restless. once i get settled, i feel it necessary to move. i don't know why this is. i love having a place of my own, creating a nook that inspires me.....i just hate being closed in....i'd love it if i could have a house with glass walls......i want to see the outside. i crave fresh air, open windows, breezes, birds chirping, smelling flowers......i would wither away if i lived in a city. same goes for clothes....i wear tank tops and flip flops....though i would rather go barefoot all the time. i hate winter because of heavy clothes. i like airy, flowing....open meadows, beach/ocean as far as the eye can see, long roads that lead to anywhere. i think it's about the feeling of freedown...of possibility....of not being held back.

one of the best feelings i've ever had in my life was sky diving. pure ecstatic joy. freedom. giving up a sense of security.....jumping out of an airplane knowing anything could happen....if you've done it as well, you know what i'm talking about....if you never have, then words will never be able to express how amazing the experience is.

i'm off to goodwill to give away more 'stuff'.

REINVENT IT

yep. sometimes you just gotta put a bucket on your head.

when the usual uses and habits of something get stale, come up with a new invention for an old thing. best kind of recycling. and trust me, these kids thought i was a god when i said use them for hats.

GO ON WITH YA BAD SELF

sassy bridesmaids and bride
Originally uploaded by celisa

speak up.
embrace who you are.
value yourself and what your friends bring out in you.
don't compare.
instead of being jealous, let other women's beauty inspire you and make you feel proud to be a woman.
own who you are.
surround yourself with positive strong vivacious women. i do.

REJOICE

you are alive.
right here.
right now.
in this moment.
rejoice in it. embrace it.
give all you have to this second, this minute, this hour, this day.

IDEAS COME AT THE STRANGEST TIME

I am guest blogging at Michelle's blog while her and David are off honeymooning this week. Funny, because I rarely post on my own. I usually let the words come to me rather than force an idea for a blog. I'll write more on this today on her blog......strangely enough I just had an idea. :)

CLEARANCE IN ETSY SHOP

SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE

I am listening to the Grateful Dead station on Sirius, drinking a Black and Tan, and contemplating how clear my mind and heart are getting the more I get rid of. Yesterday was spent doing some epic cleaning and clearing out. I hung curtain rods and vibrant colorful sheer fabric....which is what i tend to do to save money instead of spending an insane amount of money on curtains, and this way I can change out "curtains" depending on my mood and the season. The yellow, orange, green, and red striped fabric looks amazing with the freshly painted green kitchen wall. (pics coming soon)

I have learned by example from my old roommate Michelle that caddy cornering furniture warms up a room...it's inviting and so much 'softer' to the eye. Plus, it gives a 'flare' to your rooms that otherwise is lost. So, I caddy cornered my bed today in the hopes that sleep becomes more inviting rather than tossing and turning.

Michelle's wedding is coming up in a few days and I can't help but think about the directions we choose to travel in life. Some fall into a pattern of thinking that life just happens to us, that all the bad circumstances and what not make us a victim of these unfortunate events. Yes, unfortunate things happen...but we choose our reactions. We choose where we go from there.

I think we pick up habits, good or bad, to mask emotions inside of us we would rather not deal with. We go shopping, we drink, we continue to choose the wrong person in love, we eat too much or not enough, we watch excessive amounts of tv to distract ourselves from the fact our lives are boring or not what we planned...etc etc....the list goes on. BUT we can choose the good habits too....we can pretend we are not stressed until we actually become less anxious...we can clean when we are upset, we can paint a wall green to evoke happy feelings when we wake up to make coffee every morning, we can learn to value the simple things of life rather than pine after more and more...we can use mason jars as vases (which in my opinion are WAY better than some store bought expensive one), we can pick wildflowers, we can gather with friends to cook dinner instead of lamenting on the fact we don't have money to go out to eat......

life is a constant journey of growth. of change. of embracing who you are and those you love. it's a letting go of the things that hinder that growth. we become who we are by understanding life is what we make it. we choose it. so i raise my glass to michelle and david, and all of you out there, in the hopes that we can always see the 'sunny side of life' in whatever path we choose to go down.

LIKE A CAT

If there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor, a cat will find it and soak it up.
~jean asper mcintosh

I have been seeking that spot....looking in even the tiniest of corners.

KINDNESS

Throughout this toilsome world, alas!

Once and only once I pass;

If a kindness I may show,

If a good deed I may do

To a suffering fellow man,

Let me do it while I can.

No delay, for it is plain

I shall not pass this way again.

~anon

SIMPLIFY

Simplicity has been my theme this week. I have created a new style of necklaces that fit my mood, and I have been pleased with how "simple" they are.

I've been thinking a lot about what is left behind when something is stripped down....exposed....about what is there when the light shines on something that has been in the shadows for too long. Is there something ugly lingering that seems even more hideous when it's illuminated, or is it a flower that begins to flourish once 'exposed' ?

That is all for now.

DISCOVER

One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. ~andre gide

WHAT WE LOVE

Let the beauty we love be what we do. ~Rumi

CHAPTERS OF LIFE

rainbow milifiore earrings---my favorite beads to use!

Every exit is an entry somewhere else. - Tom Stoppard

BEING STRONG

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass. ~Maya Angelou

CAPTURING MOMENTS

I am very excited. I just bought a new camera...simple, yet a much more upgraded version of what i did have. I am looking forward to tomorrow to go explore the world and what moments I might capture!

WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO

I go through phases; restless, or pretty content. There is usually no in between. Lately it's been the restless phase. Nothing seems to keep my attention, no food satisfies me, a constant state of craving something that I don't know what it is...food speaking and life speaking. These are the days that I want to rid myself of belongings..which leads to many goodwill boxes, change something physically about me (through hair cuts, hair dyes, clothes, something), a longing to free myself of attachments, I usually distance myself from the people in my life....the withdrawal usually stems from the need to recharge, the need to center myself....lots of behaviors that go on in the restless phase. Though some might see this as an unhealthy behavior....I have learned to see it as an amazing opportunity to "reboot" so to speak. Yes, it's frustrating to me and especially to those in my life, but it's absolutely necessary. It enables me to see where I need to simplify my life, or what area I need to add some fire to. A process of reevaluation can be a good thing. Where am I at? What direction do I want to be heading in? What can I let go of? What do I need to bring into my life? Am I happy or do I need to rethink what I thought I wanted? Am I being true to who I am, and most importantly, are my behaviors and daily activities benefiting me in healthy ways?

All of this is pointless though if my expectations of life, or expectations I place on others are unrealistic and too demanding. Honestly you can hope for the best, but we have no control over what life brings us for the most part. We can only react to the situations that play out in our life. It's a beautiful thing indeed.

"The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."
~Havelock Ellis

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

DCP_3970
Originally uploaded by celisa

I am seeking,
I am striving,
I am in it with
all my heart.
~Vincent Van Gogh

LIFE IS FOR THE LIVING

You're life isn't what you thought it would be...not at this age...living in this place...the way you look....who you are with....whatever it is. SO WHAT?? It is what it is at this point. You aren't dead yet, so change it. Even if you can't make one HUGE change, make one small one (cause after all most things worth having or doing happen little by litte usually...you just need patience).

one step at a time

one drop at a time

one smile at a time....

will change your world. because life is for the living. so live it.

FRIENDSHIP LOVE AND ALL THAT JAZZ

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~Marcel Proust

"We cannont tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over." ~James Boswell

and last but not least....

"FRIEND. GOOD." ~Frankenstein

I love you guys and can't wait to share your special day with you!!

Feeling a bit of gratitude today...just wanted to share it.

RainbowSwirlz Etsy Shop

Very cool Etsy shop I found today. LOVE LOVE the giraffe shirts! They are also having a sale on some of their items.

No Excuses

"One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind." ~Dorothea Lange

Oh how true this is! For photography and for living!

Days Like These

~photo by Gill Landry - if you haven't heard his music before you should

FROM A CHILDHOOD

Rich darkness round the room was streaming
where the boy sat, quite hidden in himself.
His mother came, a dream within his dreaming,
and a glass quivered on a silent shelf.
Feeling the room had given her away,
she kissed him--"So it's you" --and let him be...
Then both glanced at the piano timidly,
for often of an evening she would play,
and had a song that drew him deep and clung.
He sat there very still. His large gaze hung
upon her hand which, under bright rings bowing,
as though with labor through a snow-drift plowing,
over the white keys softly swung.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

I am reading Rainer Maria Rilke this week....trying to get into the frame of mind for blog writing. Making jewelry, enjoying the 70 degree weather here in Georgia this weekend...it's the beginning of Feb. and I am wearing a tank top, shorts, and have all the windows open at 9:30 at night. I am in love with life on days like these.

With strokes that ring clear and metallic, the hour
to touch me bends down on its way:
my senses are quivering. I feel I've the power--
and I seize on the pliable day.

Not a thing was complete till by me it was eyed,
every kind of becoming stood still.
Now my glances are ripe and there comes like a bride
to each of them just what it will.

There's nothing so small but I love it and choose
to paint it gold-groundly and great
and hold it most precious and know not whose soul it may liberate...

~Rainer Maria Rilke

I don't have many words today. Somehow this blog started messing up and after many attempts of trying to fix it I had to start over. Fortunately I only had a couple of entries, since it's brand new. A bit discouraged today...but nothing I won't pull through.

Some parting words....

"It is always my wish that you might find enough patience within yourself to endure, and enough innocence to have faith...Believe me, life is right in all cases." ~yet another Rainer Maria Rilke