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.