First Post of the New Year, 2014!

I have been neglecting my dear blog over the holidays !

That is maybe because I have been living life in the “real” world so fully.

We had an amazing Christmas in Montreal and La Conception.

Lots of love, laughter and good food.

And yesterday, David and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with my dear friend Suzanne.

We bundled up warmly, donned our silly party hats and grabbed our noise makers

and headed to Hampton Beach, NH to watch the fireworks show

under the stars and over the sea !

Cold, cold, cold (about 16 F) but fun anyway

and there was a great crowd of revelers there !

This morning, David and I did the annual dance in the snow in our bare feet,

inspired by my Mommy, who started this tradition when I was a little kid.

Kooky, cold but invigorating none the less !

My pal Suzy is here for the rest of the week.

Since they are announcing snow and cold for the next few days,

we have planned some fun arty stuff to do together.

Such a great way to launch the new year !

Maybe, as we play,

I will get the message from the Universe

about my Word of the Year.

I started to get a bit of impulses towards it today in fact…

If you would like to keep your Word of the Year in focus

in its very own Word of the Year Rock In a Box,

they are available in my Etsy shop until the end of the month.

I would like to wish all of us a 2014 full of present moment living, hearts full of gratitude and an abundance of love and kindness.

Happy New Year, Beautiful Ones !

Sharing the joy is a gift !

From this week’s Joy List :

1. Cold Play in concert at Mohegan Sun last Saturday with my Baby !

The band was awesome and in great form for our evening together in CT.

2. David and I bundling up to go to the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Hampton, NH, only to come home without having seen said fireworks when there was an hour and a half delay that we were way too cold to wait through in spite of bundling up.

3. My friend Suzanne is here and we are cooking up some eucalyptus bundles !

Such fun !

And the opening is always such a sweet surprise !

My indoor clothesline. Not as wonderful as hanging pieces by the fire like at e.b.’s but my sunny studio worked in a pinch.

Hearts abound – looks like early Valentine’s day pieces !

3. Having chosen my Word of the Year!

Drum roll…..

 

My

 

Word of the Year for 2013

 

is

present.

As in be present,

live life in the present tense,

and I am present.

I also love that the word has the second meaning of “a gift”.

Being present is a gift for me. It offers me comfort when I get overwhelmed with crazy life, and brings me back to what is the only thing we know for sure.

This present moment…

 

I made myself a little rock with my word.

It is actually a special rock given to me by my sister Kristina. It came in a bag with a few friends that had a note in it that read “Some rocks from the Rockies for the Rock Fairy” ! Love that !!! She thought about her crazy rock collecting sister when she was on her trip to Alberta last fall and brought home some rocks for me, and gave them to me as part of my Christmas gift ! May sound weird, but I think this was my very favorite gift this Christmas. Thanks, Sister !

I have the rock in one of my little Word of The Year boxes as well.

They are still available in my etsy shop if you would like a rock and a box for yourself.

So far, the joy has been easy to find in this new 2013 year.

May it continue that way for all of us !

Big Love, Beautiful Ones !

 

Check out Meri’s Musing for more joy sharing.

LIVE from the Queen of Arts Studio

I have chosen my Word of the Year for 2012.

The word is LIVE.

I love that it can be used both as LIVE, as in “I will LIVE for today”,

and

as LIVE, “LIVE from Manchester, It’s Kim, the Rock Fairy/Queen of Arts !”

I have to admit that choosing a word was not a sweet, meditative contemplation thing for me this year.

In fact, it was kind of more in response to how intimidated I was feeling by all the incredibly deep thought and soul searching some of my friends in Blogland were doing to begin their 2012 off right and to choose their important Word of the Year.

I think I am in a place where I want to spend a lot less time thinking and planning how I am going to Live this one precious life, and instead get on with the actually Living I want to do.

So the word LIVE feels like a really good fit.

While my  word was percolating, I also thought about how I would want to have my word on a Rock My World rock with “Live” on it for me, and how I have painted rocks for friends in the past with their own Word of the Year on them as a keepsake gift.

And then, I came up with this sweet little box idea :

This small white ceramic box comes from a local craft store.

I added the painted paper flower and the 2012 under a coat of Glossy Accents to create a cute dimensional decoration on the lid

and here we have a lovely place to keep your 2012 Word of the Year Rock !

I also made a second design with a sun.

I have made these sweet things available in the Etsy shop and I would love to send you

your very own customized

2012 Word of the Year Rock Rock in a Box keepsake.

For the month of January, I will be including some extra Rock My World rocks in every package I send out, so you will have your own Word rock in its pretty box and also a few other rock love messages to share.

Also, if the box isn’t your thing, but you would like to have a Rock My World Rock with your Word of the Year on it, the bag of 13 rocks are also available in the shop and I will customize them as you want me to.

Along with enjoying the rocks, you can be glad to know that part of the profits I make from selling the Rock My World Rocks always goes to being able to donate, ship and offer the rocks for free to charitable causes to use for their fund raising efforts.

Here’s hoping that 2012 is full of lots of juicy LIVING for all of us !

Big Love, Beautiful Ones !

Happy New Year’s Eve !

Well, the New Year is upon us.

I have to say that I haven’t reviewed 2011 to see what I have learned.

Nor have I had a deep thought time about what I wish to focus on in 2012.

I am kind of living in the moment right now.

And man, does it feel good.

Enjoying the down time with my husband being home.

Primping the castle a little bit here and there.

Soaking up the furry kid love.

I am excited about ringing in the New Year at our house, with our friends, Lois and Mike, at our Fondue Dinner/Games Night Celebration.

The time for contemplation will come later in January, I think.

But for now,

in this very moment,

I am so very grateful for this sweet life full of beauty and love that I am living.

So here’s to this New Year’s Eve Day, Beautiful Ones,

and may the New Year bring us all much, much more good Being !

Cheers and big Love !

A Return to Good Practices

bundled up queen – 12/31/10 pm

chairs in the snow 12/31/10 pm

ooohs & ahhhhs – 12/31/10 pm

married 10 years and still seeing fireworks – 12/31/10

heart bagel for breakfast – 01/01/11

first self-portrait of 2011 – 01/01/11

getting back to the walk – 01/02/11

looking for signs – 01/02/11

taking notice – 01/02/11

welcome home to my art journal – 01/02/11

a return to good practices

daily journal writing – 01/03/11

it is good to Be Artist Me again.

Happy New Year, Beautiful Ones.

Haiku My Heart Friday–Celebrating Myself !

the

My heart smiles gently.

Just look at how far I’ve come.

This path is so good.

Everyone seems in a rush to leave 2010 behind and embrace the New Year.

Well, I am not rushing.

The thing is that I haven’t completely celebrated what I have accomplished in this last year yet.

It feels kind of like I need a little limbo space in between where I can focus where I have arrived at in this very moment before I jump into the New Year and new words or plans or dreams…

I plan on spending this New Year’s Eve right where I am.

It is a good place.

I will catch up to 2011 eventually.

My friend Patti Digh says she asks herself two questions as the end of the year arrives.

1) What do I want to create in the new year?

and

2) What do I want or need to let go of ?

I am going to add a third one for myself.

3) What have I accomplished that needs to be celebrated ?

I figure I will give myself at least a month to find the answers to these questions.

January 2011 will be all about making friends with the new.

It looks like it will be the start of a really good friendship…

Wishing you the happiest of New Year’s, Beautiful Ones !

Big, big love to you !