An Hour for Wonderful ME !

Today is Thankfulness / Share the Joy Thursday.

Love this combo.

Today I am thankful for the joy I receive in being inspired by the wonderful way others choose to live a creative life.

Man, there was a lot to choose from today ! Here are just a few…

Elizabeth at The Blue Lotus wrote about accepting that you are enough right in this very moment. I needed that reminder as I read about some successes that others were having and started that dreadful comparison thing !

My always inspirational friend, Judy Wise, wrote about the wonderful joys in her life that make her feel grateful to be alive, right in this moment. Plus she shared her unbelievably beautiful journal pages which always make my heart sing…

The talented and generous Michelle Ward, wrote about how she has scheduled in “art-just-for-me-because-it-feels-good-to-have-messy-hands “ at least weekly to keep her creative spirit alive in the midst of life’s busy-ness.

And then Miss Meri at Meri’s Musings posted about some wonderful things that bring her heart joy (including heart shaped rocks which you know I connected with !) and invited us once gain to share our own joys.

So I decided that I would take one hour in a busy day (craft fair final prep., housework as I have a house guest, Suzanne, arriving tomorrow, trip to the post office…) to let the inspiration from my amazing muses flow through me today ! I joyfully created this page in my slightly neglected journal :

Inspired by Elizabeth’s words about story and being enough…

Channeling Judy and using some of the techniques she taught me, and even a transfer of birdie image she gave me at Squam last year,

Relishing the India Ink on my fingers and my oh so messy art table like Michelle would want me to do…

I took that one hour just for me and found my joy, my bliss, my journal…

I found my “I am enough” moment.

Thanks for the inspiration, My Friends.

Big Love to you !

Give a Little Bit...

(art journal page - "Love is bountiful" - April 2009)

So I have said it before and I will say it again, always...

Love is the answer to every question.

What do you do when you are feeling desperate, scared and unsure ?

Give some LOVE...to yourself, and to others...it will get you through...

What do you do when you see someone you love hurting, having a painful time dealing with the hard, ugly, sad times of life ?

Give that someone some LOVE...it will get them through...

What do you do when you feel inspired ? When you feel so grateful to be alive in this very moment you could burst? When you feel like this world, and the wonderful human beings in it, are something to be celebrated ?

Send out beams of LOVE in gratitude.

A group of artists, lead by Julie (Land of Lost Luggage), JeriAnn (Commuter's Journal) and Lisa (Lisa Hoffman), came together to give fellow artist, Michelle Ward, some extra big LOVE in a sad and difficult time.

Michelle has provided love, support, inspiration, celebration and wonderful friendship to so many in Blogland, myself included! When her sister Shannon passed away last year , the Blogland community rallyed around Michelle, sending love and care, and hundreds of pink winks her way to help her through. Michelle was so grateful and blown away, as you can imagine, at the genuine LOVE that came her way in her hour of need.

A few months later, JeriAnn and Julie launched the Top Secret Mission to keep the LOVE flowing as Michelle faced the anniversary of Shannon's passing. Each one of us was asked to create a piece of art work inspired by our relationship with Michelle and include a message of love and care with it. Then our fearless leaders gathered the pages created by all 39 of us into a book, sewn together and sealed with all that LOVE ! Michelle received the book just before heading to Minnesota to be with her family for the first summer without their beloved Shannon. She revealed the Book of LOVE on her blog yesterday. (Julie has created a Flick'r page where you can see all the Love Art up close). Michelle's emotion at receiving our gift brought tears to my eyes. She deserves every ounce of the care that went into the project .

(side one of the page I created for Michelle - she was the one who gave me my most favorite nickname ever, The Rock Fairy)

I am so proud and happy to have been been a part of this Top Secret Mission of Love. The rewards of giving LOVE are so abundant, it always leaves me in awe. I am grateful to Julie, JeriAnn and Lisa for bringing it all together and to the other artists who put their hearts into giving the beautiful Michelle, and the world, just a little bit more LOVE.

It is the answer. This I know.

Love BIG today ! It's good for you ! ;)

A TA-DA List ! - New Month, New Plans, New Zest !

(Ta-Da ! -detail of an art journal page from last year)

So today the awesome and always inspiring Michelle Ward has a post about changing your To-Do list into a Ta-Da List ! How cool is that ? (as Michelle would ask ) I just love this idea ! I spend so much time thinking about that damn to-do list...the things that need to be done, what if I do them wrong, how can I fit them all in, blah, blah blah !!!!

Enter Ta-Da list ! A way to celebrate what you got done, what you have accomplished, what you already did right ! I think I need this big time !!!!

So in honor of Michelle's inspiration and the beginning of a new month (Ta-da, Lived through January '09 !!!), here is my wonderful Ta-Da List for February 1, 2009 :

Ta-da ! - Connected on the phone with a blog pal, Carolyn at 8 Golden Paws ! She seems so very, very nice, and she and I have some big plans !!!!

Ta-Da ! - Filled out the registration forms and signed the check ready to be mailed tomorrow morning for THIS !!!! I am going to SAW in September !

Ta-Da! - Packing bags and making tracks to go to Mont Tremblant and Montreal to see my Katie Cupcake and the rest of my wonderful family, and to attend the big Girl's Weekend Bash at Natalie's House next Sat. ! Think girlfriends, good food, good tunes, and lots of silliness and dancing !

Ta-Da ! Posted a post on the blog to say "See you soon !" to my blogland pals as I head off for a week !

I hope you have a great week. I may check in a few times while I am gone too. I hope you find lots of things to add to your ta-da list this week !