I Hope you Dance!

My Top 5 Today:

Safe & Sound Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars

and a beautiful cover of the above by Julia Sheer

Crazy Girl by Eli Young

Moon River by the Honey Trees

Somebody The I Used to Know by Gotye

Hello Monday...

Hello to a wonderful new thought...

 “I’ve always been the opposite of paranoid. 

I operate as if everyone is a part of a plot to enhance my well-being.”

- Stan Dale

Stan Dale you are a smart man - think I will follow in your foot steps!!

(Thanks Rhonda for the heads up)

Hello mapped out vision board.

Now let's glues it down and start making things happen!

Hello week 6 of training...87 miles down...425 miles to go.

Maybe I should stop adjusting my training schedule so it actually feels like I am making progress.

Hello Life Organizer...looking forward to this new approach.

Hello tidied desk - boy were you a mess.

 Hello Bead Soup mix I really need to wrap you up...you are due on March 3rd!!!

Hello great win yesterday for Wild Bantams!!  Such a great game!!  

Bantams I am so glad Connor is a part of your team!!

Hello new completed work.

Hello Lightening Label...big moment for Star Hitched Wagon

Hello Tangerine Tango...let's jump on the band wagon!!!

 Hello last week of hockey for Xander...let's take state!  :)

Thanks as always to Lisa for such a great idea!
How's your Monday looking?

Are you here for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope Blog Hop

If so it's over here:

One Dumb Thing...




This weeks Burning Question....

What's one dumb thing that you used to believe in? 




That I wasn't an artist...

because I wasn't educated or trained as an artist...

because someone didn't come a long and give me the title

and a badge that said Your Are An Artist...

because others doubted.

But then one day I realized I get to decide...

and I decided that yes indeed I am an ARTIST.

Yes I get to decide.




I Hope you Dance!

MY Top 5 Today:

Blood by The Middle East

Eyes Wide Open by Gotye

Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars

Elouise by The Lumineers

Static Waves by Andrew Belle

Hello Monday...

Hello lazy sleep in kind of Monday...

would be about perfect if only we weren't missing Steve and Macey.  

Hello week 5 of training...hope to get another outdoor run in this week...

my awesome new shoes are ready.

Hello coffee and homemade scones for breakfast...yummy...would you like the recipe?

Hello sunny skies...love that we are getting close to spring!  

Yesterdays snow won't stick around too long if you keep shining.

Hello lovely natural curl and wave and body...

why can't I harness you and have this style while looking good...

instead of you just presenting yourself when I let you air dry...

oh yeah and could you move around to include the back as well!

 Hello messy piles of creativity looking forward to finishing my first vision board.  

 Hello wonderfully relaxing music...love this newly created station on Pandora.

You are perfect to listen to while I work on my vision board.

Hello to all the wonderful new blogs I clicked 

through too this weekend...you are fueling my creativity, my dreams

and just how I can bring you to reality:

Tenacious Leigh

Jen Louden

Louise Gale

Danielle LaPorte

Christine Cane

Tiny Buddha

just to name a few I could go on and on...so much goodness out there.

Hello lists...please help me stay on track this week.

Hello new recipe - hope the boys like you.

Hello Aromatherapy Class....I really do promise to get working on you...I will post abou you repeatedly until I am a certified Aromatherapist!!!

As always thanks to Lisa for such a great idea...keeps me present!

My Love of Art

I am participating in The Love of Art Blog Party today hosted by Rachel Payne

What a wonderful thing...writing about why we love art!

I am sure each of us is very different in the type of art we create

and the type of art we love or are drawn to

but I bet the reasons we love art are probably very very similar!

For me it's very basic at it's core...

I love art because it makes me happy!

When I am in the process of creating I am at peace.

Without those moments of creativity I am a mess...

nothing else can fall into place...

because I am not in place.

As long as I am creating at some level on a regular basis...

well it makes the rest fall into place a little easier.

(beautiful wooden heart by my sister Jamie)

Art connects!!!

This is another huge reason that I love art.

The artist community is a wonderful place...

meeting and chatting and brainstorming with other artists...

oh what an awesome thing... 

it leads to more courage, bigger ideas, and new possibilities...

and the discovery of some extremely awesome ARTISTS...

those Kindred Spirits...

(beautiful tin heart made by one of my favorite artists Carissa Fox of Brown Eyed Fox)

and their beautiful ART!!!

ART that now graces the walls of my home...

ART that brings a smile to my face...

ART that might just inspire more ART!!!

Not to mention the good artists do...

I have had the opportunity to help others through my art.

There have been times when maybe I haven't been able to give money to a worthy cause...

but I can always donate a piece of my art...

and it can be sold or auctioned off and maybe bring a slight blessing to another.

What's not to love about that.

So see it's simple...

art makes me happy...

I simply cannot be me without art!!

(posted both here and at Star Hitched Wagon)

My wish...

My wish for this day is that you all are surrounded in love!

And remember I appreciate each and every one of you!!

My Xander - He's An Artist

This sweet boy of ours is an incredible artist.  Always has been...

He spends hours drawing...

HOURS!

He has a unique style that is all his own!

I just love it!

This is his latest drawing!

Roberto Luongo

This one will be framed and put it up in Connor's room...

Connor is a HUGE Canucks fan.

A pretty sweet gift if you ask me.

We put this up in the USA Hockey Magazine's Slap Gallery

Maybe you'd like to vote for him.

 He may just end up in the magazine...

And that just might make his year!!  :)

Thanks everyone for looking!

Have a beautiful day!

Hello Monday...

Hello to our first Monday with a 14 year old son!!!  :)

Hello swollen eye - adult acne sucks!

Hello sore muscles - but I am so glad to have yoga back in my life.

Hello week 4 of  training!!  3 whole weeks and 46 miles down - only 16 weeks and about 465 miles to go!!!

Hello contractor - thank you for replacing that missing piece of siding!

Hello handmade Valentines!!  What a clever idea (his mouth is where the kids will put in the Valentines!!!

Hello aromatherapy classses - I promise to start working on you!

Hello design work...can't wait to make you two realities!!

Hello to a wonderful REAL life, full of opportunities, choices, and blessings!!

 And as always a big thanks to Lisa Leonard for such a fun idea!

Hello Monday...

Hello struggles to get out of bed on time...just how many times did I push the snooze button today?

SO thankful Steve went in later today so he could bring Connor to school.

This means an extra few minutes of sleep for Xander and I!!

Hello bright and sunshiny day!  

You may be cold but I do love your rays!

Hello little man's beat up face...no not really beat up

...and no it wasn't that rough of a hockey game this weekend.  

Sadie was just so happy to see him - he ended up taking a paw and a claw to the nose.  

Poor kid.

Hello mouth full of missing teeth?  

Can you even chew?  

The tooth fairy has made you rich these past few weeks.

Hello scrappy goodness all over my floor...

I just can't make myself put you away I will probably use you today...

and tomorrow...

and the next day...

and the next...

I do have to vacuum at some point.

Hello 28th layout in 2012!!  

I am so excited to have some scrappy goodness back in my life!

Think I might tell you this often!!!  :)

Hello delicious new coffee discovery - oh how I love you!!

Hello Week 3 of training...
I know it's early but I am really feeling good about this!
I am really enjoying my time running.
Praying that it lasts right up until I cross that finish line on June 3rd.

A big thanks to Lisa Leonard for such a fun idea!

Makes me think Monday's aren't so bad after all!!  

Lots of wonderful things to love this Monday!!!  

How about you?  

What does your Monday bring?

A Little Scrappy Goodness!!!

I have been a scrapbooking fool these past few weeks!  I am SOOO excited about all the pages I have completed!!!  25 pages completed!!!  25 layouts in 32 days !  Woohoo!!  So I decided to share a few:

The above layout was inspired by a My Minds Eye sketch by Tamara Jensen

The above layout was inspired by the layout on page 59 in the Spring/Summer 2012 CTMH Catalog

And the above layout was inspired by a Basic Grey Sketch by Kelly Goree

All the layouts below were done for the Inspired to Scrap Sketch Class that just finished up!  Awesome inspiration there!!!  The classes are ultra affordable - you should sign up for the upcoming April sketch class!!  Really you should!  If you scrapbook that is!  :)