A whole bunch of random and a side of clutter

Catching Up...

Ahhhh. I have so much life to share

 art and small children and hopes and decluttering my life and being creative.

We are finally all healthy.

And my baby is finally sleeping. {crying.}

And I'm so deliriously tired that I'm

 {finally} perfectly okay with it.

I am sleeping and I feel like a new woman.

Like I can climb mountains and leap tall buildings.

Or at least walk upright without passing out.

My heart is full of thanks.

I feel like we're turning a corner

and I don't wanna get too excited,

but it's exciting.

In my art world I did something huge.

Okay, 2 huge somethings.

I taught art to grown-ups.

And the gremlins came out with a vengeance.

I was so nervous. I felt beyond inadequate.

And it was better than wonderful.

and I met these really, really great women.

like, people I would want to be friends with.

I was completely blessed by it.

And it was just another reminder

that when I walk through my fears

and climb my mountains

there are big rewards.

always.

and of course I forgot my camera.

{doh.}

so my other big art dream mountain climbing news is this:

Artehouse prints gorgeous vintage posters and signs
on wood and sells them to retailers.
They contacted me about licensing my mixed media collage.
I'm serious. I'm not kidding. or lying.
I'm trying not to freak out or get too excited.
I'm holding my breathe and hoping that everything will work out.
 I signed a contract and sent them my images.
They are not up on the website yet,
but I will definitely let you know when they are.
{This is where I remind myself to breathe.}

 

On the homefront,
 being at home with 2 littles...
is getting better.
so much better.
I'm trying to schedule out our day & stick to it.
And work on fun projects.
This deserves a whole post.

Thanks for hanging in there with my constant "this is really hard" whining
I just kind of feel like I'd be lying if I said everything is all roses when life is simply hard.
And of course, there are blessings in the hard.
but all this to say, we're finding our way.
With a lot of prayer & help.

Things I love right now:

The first Pinterest project that I've actually really made from here.
http://sewingin-nomansland.blogspot.com/2010/10/rocket-man-little-boys-space-party.html
It took about 15 minutes & has given about 15 hours of play time.
So fun.

I'm trying to live by this mantra.
Which explains the back of my car.
Now the challenge is delivering them to GoodWill
without bringing any more c$%p home.
Not easy.

Completely inspired by this post:
40 bags in 40 days
I'm gonna try it.
I think I can. I think I can.

This article from Jeff Goins about
Why My Clutter is Killing My Creativity

This post on marriage.

The post I've wanted to write for 2 years,

but haven't been able to.
She says it so well.
I have so many paintings in my heart and head
 I want to make about marriage.
No time right now, so I have to jot them
down in my sketch book.
I've been art journaling.

It's worth at least a million dollars in therapy.
seriously therapuetic.
And that's an entire post too.
I love Julie  and Tammy and Rachel
This is a great post for getting started.

This sweet banner.

Easy love notes.

This Scarybravewonderful Life

Courage is a funny thing.

One day it's there.

The next, it disappears.

One thing I know is that I have to keep using it.  

every day. to live this scarybrave life.

like exercise, I'm never done.

I'll never get to the "there" place

when I can say

oh look. I used up all my courage.

and now I'm this new person.

No, it lives in big and small choices I make every single day.

And all of those baby steps glued together =

this scarybravewonderful life.

are you following me here?

Teaching art to grown ups was one of those

humongous scary mountains for me.

And one day last summer while Auntie Babe was here

I had this huge spurt of courage.

An "I can conquer the world and leap

tall buildings in a single bound" attitude.

So I filled out about 7 teaching applications for local venues

and sent them off.

Done.

Fast forward to fall.

I find out that my proposal for my mixed media angel class was accepted at

our community college's enrichment program.

Yay me!

oh sh*&.

what have I done?

Ummm, I was just kidding!

It was a joke.

Okay.

I can do this.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

It's in February, which is forever away.

So no problem, right?

I'll be some kind of expert by then.

Fast forward to Saturday.

I was so nervous.

And I showed up with all of my stuff.

And it was fun.

so fun.

really fun.

I met 5 great women.

We sat around and chatted and made angels and

they were wonderful and full of grace for me.

I'm so thankful for each one of them.

Of course I took not one picture.

But I get to go back next Saturday.

And finish.

And I climbed my big, huge mountain.

And I made it.

baby steps.

every day.

What baby steps are you taking today?

On being brave: love thy neighbor

do you know your neighbors?

i don't.

we've lived here 3 and a half years and

i still don't know my neighbors.

which has kind of been okay with me,

until now.

when i was 10 we moved to california.

encinitas to be exact.

and i grew up with my neighbors.

we were in and out of each other's

houses all day long.

we walked to school together.

we played capture the flag.

we dressed up in sparkley flapper dresses

we made invitations and knocked on doors for the

whole neighborhood to watch us put on "shows" in Tyme's front yard.

we sang and danced to whitney houston and the sound track to stand by me.

our families went on ski trips

and celebrated christmas eve together.

i got to grow up in community

and i didn't even know it.

but i knew it was sweet and i knew it was special.

i could feel it.

and i loved it.

what i didn't know is that it doesn't just happen.

i have to put myself out there. {ugh}

i have to make an effort. {sigh}

i have to risk being uncomfortable. {really?}

i have to make small talk with strangers.

i have to be brave.

if i want the rich life that comes from being brave.

and i do.

so here's what i'm gonna do.

i'm gonna start small.

no grandiose awkward parties or anything.

first i'm gonna walk around the neighborhood with my kiddos

and pray for each family that lives in each house.

silently of course. so as not to freak out the strangers on my street.

{i'm not saying this cause i'm super spiritual.

 i promise. i'm not.

i'm saying it because i remember going on prayer walks

on highschool campuses as a young life leader

and it calms my heart and brings me peace

and reminds me that it all belongs to God.

and i need that reminder.a lot.}

then i'm gonna bake {or buy} something

a lot of somethings

and make them pretty and put them

 in the wagon and deliver them.

door to door.

in person.

to strangers.

scary.

i know.

and all the while i will be scared and nervous and thinking

ugh. this is not what i want to be doing right now.

but i will do it and god will work and

i will say thank you lord.

and wait for my next brave assignment.