Been Pining for Summer....

i missed a chance to go to the beach last saturday....to see seals!!!  Harbor Seals bask on the sandbar at Sandy Hook.  Apparently i am the only NJ resident that did not know that happened and that we had seals here!  Sigh.......i will miss the chance again this weekend. i am going on a retreat....a spiritual get away to refresh and renew my soul.  i have never been on one before and i am not quite sure what to expect.  i am hoping for some quiet time....i am hoping for some time to shoot pictures and eat some meals that i did not have to shop for, plan, or cook and clean up after.  i am hoping for a weekend of self affirmation and learning....maybe meeting and making new friends.  i am nervous going into this.  i know virtually no one else there but my daughter...and she will be mostly with her friends.  i am rooming with someone i do not know at all.  i feel like someone going off to college!
i had to post this shot of the sea, i do miss it SO much about now.  The weather here for February has been quite pleasant....and tomorrow mom nature is throwing out a big tease....it may hit 60 degrees!  Bless my soul, i will think i am in heaven!! i begin to have deep yearning for the beach about now.  i miss it all the time, but the holidays keep me busy enough that i haven’t much time to think about that.  Now that things have settled and the last of the dreary days are stretching out before me, i am looking for things to lighten my spirit, and soothe my soul.  Breathe deeply the salt air, and gaze off over the water....feel the warm rays of the sun, and feel the gentle breeze......Ahhhhhh....summer, please hurry!

Working through it....

i have been working on several things at once here and as usual with me it is not a good thing!  i tend to scatter myself and then feel the pressure to finish one thing before i begin another....but which thing should come first!?  i am not good at prioritizing my “things” and tend to do so by what i feel like doing!  All of this leads me to neglect things i should do....like eat! i have been rather happily doing my thing here...but suddenly i am finding myself run down and feeling like i have a head full of cotton balls.  I have a sudden revelation that i need to refuel with some balanced meals and some sleep.  it began today with the sleep part.....i had an overwhelming desire to sleep this afternoon, so i gave in and took what i told myself would be a little nap.  i went up to take my snooze in my fleece sheets around 1pm. because i was cold and could not get warm.  i woke up at 6pm!  disoriented....it was dark in my room...i squinted at the clock on the dresser.  6PM!!!  How could this be....i had not thrown the laundry in...had not made dinner (i did thaw the chicken for the recipe i chose...oh, well, will use that tomorrow!).  I wandered downstairs to find my husband eating a bowl of soup....apparently he had also eaten my left over Thai meal from last night....dang!  ok...so i knew i had to eat something, but i was not about to begin cooking a meal....so i ate my Thai “dessert” that i bought last night....sticky rice with mango, had a cup of tea to clear my clogged head and sat down to do my homework.  above are the results of this weeks recipe from Kim with slight alterations on my part to adjust for the photos i chose from my archives.  i hope you enjoy....and i promise to get back to mending my health, beginning tomorrow!

The Creative....

“The creative is a place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you discover there will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover is yourself”   ~Alan Alda~

i have been busy, leaving my city of comfort and going off into the wilderness of my intuition.  i have been learning new things and experimenting and creating...
Most of my family thinks that what i do is just deedling and playing around on my computer....REALLY what i am doing is working.  Just because i love what i do, does not mean it is not work....it just means i am one of the lucky few who can honestly say that i love what i do!  It has taken me a long time to come to terms with this.  This is where i learn and grow.  This is no different than if i were sitting at a desk in an office, or at school....except that i am studying how to make myself a better and more knowledgeable person/artist/photographer in the comfort of my home.  I will no longer be apologizing for what i do....i will do it with pride, knowing that i am one of the lucky few that was blessed with an artistic talent that i am just now becoming able to see and admit.  it is not bragging or pompous....it is simply true, and part of the process of me growing more confident and sure of myself as a person....and finally as the artist i was born to be.
i am enjoying the journey and am so glad that i talked myself into joining the Beyond Layers class with Kim.  After so much self doubt, i am finally seeing that i can do some pretty beautiful things.  Thanks to ALL of my friends who have stood by me during my days and nights of self criticism and doubt....thank you for pushing me to reach for new heights....THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart and soul!

The last picture is my grandbean, Lileigh Grace....love of my life.  The photo was taken as she looked out the window Rainy Daydreaming....with her reflection staring back at me.  This was my first attempt to print on wood, and with some minor flaws, it came out pretty well for a first try.  i hope to perfect the process in the near future and add these to my site along with prints on canvas and other mediums as i experiment.  i think they would make nice and unusual gifts or additions to a family portrait wall or as decorative prints with quotes.  hope you enjoy seeing what i have been up to as i await the next Kim challenge!

Think Happiness...

I have a real hate/despise relationship with mondays.  My weekends of creating are very important to me...and my job, altho some do not think so (you only work 3 hours a day....) is intense and leaves me drained by the time i come home.  It is a mental and emotional kind of exhaustion....the kind you get from dealing with young children who need TONS of assistance for 3 hours straight!  Don’t get me wrong....i love what i do, and hope day after day i am making an impact on their young lives...but i am just saying , it is exhausting, and i do SO look forward to my weekend....which seems to fly by 100X faster than my week does!
i just remembered this morning that i made this little collage of words to keep me focused on happiness.  It is a frame of mind that sometimes gets away from all of us.  i want to make sure that i keep it front as center as much as i possibly can...i find it helps immensely with survival during my week!
This weekend i decided to try an art project i have had in mind for a while now....and i am pretty pleased with how it came out.  it does need some fine tuning but all in all for a first try it was pretty awesome!  I hope to photograph it and put it in my next blog....altho i did shoot an instagram shot of it last night for my facebook friends to give their opinion. So far it seems to be getting positive assessment, so that made my monday morning a smiley one!
Hope you all have a wonderful start to your week....and on your way out of here....hit the fast forward button to Tuesday, will ya!?  thanks!! :)

Oh, What Fun....

this weeks challenge is!  i have a thing for vintage things....living in a vintage house, i tend to collect things that i think go well with the age of my home...which was built over 3 time periods, beginning in the mid 1700’s thru the 1930’s.  It is an old farmstead, once a 400 acre dairy farm with orchards of apples and peaches.  We are on what is left of it......8 acres with the old dairy barn, spring house and corncrib by the pond, as out buildings.  The setting is like stepping back in time....very relaxing, down a gravel lane. away from everything.  Solitude. 
 Needless to say this weeks homework was a happy surprise....and above is my first attempt at Vintage.  I will do a few more, using different windows and light...This was in the dining room....late morning light.  It is a bit darker than i would have liked but overall i was happy with it for a first try!
My recipe was:  Roses, kk123 texture opacity @24%, vintage gradient map @40%, levels adjustment 70 .093 240, kkOrganic texture @36%, text Vt Remington opacity @53%.
Faux Friday is nearly done...real Friday is looming...the unofficial start of the weekend!
SMILE and ENJOY!!
 

Seems like a very long time.....

I have been gone....busy.   Crazy busy.....my daughter gave birth to my second Grandbean, 3 weeks early after a rocky pregnancy.  I have been with Lileigh Grace, while mom and dad were at the hospital....taking care of a 26 month old is truly a full time job!  we had loads of fun, and i was in awe of the transition from sweet little bean to the bean from hell! It was like someone flipped a switch!!  Suddenly, the day after Noah was born, (he was not yet home), everything in the house was hers.  EVERYTHING!  zip lock bags, the furniture, the dog, the TV remote, a glass of water.....me!  My youngest and oldest daughters came to wait for the arrival of Noah and family.  When my youngest came over to hug me, Lileigh Grace placed herself squarely between us and shouted at her, “NO! Neenee’s Mmmmm-ma!”  (she can pronounce her L’s if it is not in her name...go figure!) She really does make me laugh....a lot!
i am doing my very best to see that she gets my undivided attention and a little extra to help her know she is still my #1 Bean! I love her with all my heart and would give my life for her.  Noah is sweet and adorable in his own right....and i adore him already....but there is something magical about that first grandbean in your life!!

I have had no time to concentrate on my collage...let alone capture 6 snapshots that represent my daily routine as a time capsule, so forgive me if i took creative license to do what i could with the time that i had!  i hope you enjoy this snippet of my past few days...even if it is not my normal daily routine!