So Many Gifts...

 

 

Three days until my birthday...

 

The birth festival is in full swing !

 

I have already received so many gifts !

 

 

(Roman Glass Necklace - a precious gift created by my dear friend Donna Yarger)

 

 

 

I am filled with gratitude and joy !

 

 

 

(Crystal Singing Bowl - a gift from my dear friend, Linda E.)

 

I feel so very LOVED !

 

I had a little art tribe gathering at Art More Place hosted by my amazingly generous friend, Sherri, over the weekend. 

 

I wasn't feeling so hot last week, with perimenopausal nightmarish symptoms and anxiety on high alert.

 

But the healing, loving, playful time with my friends has made things so much easier.

 

Though some of the symptoms linger, I have new tools to hold on to, and new thoughts to think as I go through them, thanks to my amazing women friends !

 

 

I am surrounding myself with my all the sweet gifties I received and soaking it all it.

 

Check out how beautiful my lanai looks this morning with my treasures displayed !

 

 

 

 

 

I am finding the words "Thank you!" inadequate to express how grateful I am to my loving, generous, supportive and accepting friends.

 

But I am saying them over and over, and sending them out in big puffs of love from my filled up heart !

 

Thank you, my friends ! Love you so much !

 

I am giving thanks…

Just little bits of sweet joy from a long Thanksgiving weekend in Quebec…

We got to meet Patine, my friend Suzanne’s new baby Old English Sheep dog.

Man, is she cute !!!

Chica was a great older auntie dog to her, playing a lot but also showing that little one some limits.

So much fun to watch !

Sunday, we traveled to my sister Kristina’s in La Conception. Quebec (near Mont Tremblant).

There we got to see this little cutie, Miss Kate, who Uncle Dave and I adore !

Dave loves her so much, he even lets her decorate him.

I am sure he won’t mind me sharing this pic of him on the internet.

Right, Honey ?

Along with Katie, her brilliant bro and fire keeper, Thomas, and their mom and dad, we had a Thanksgiving feast with 18 other lovely members of our family !

Such an amazing group of people. So much good conversation, great food, hugs, laughter and good family loving !

 

I was too busy soaking it all in to take too many pics, but I did capture a few, like my shiny Mom and and sister,  Kristina, Natalie squeezing her daughter Jessica tight, and Miss Katie hanging with her other aunt, Natalie.

Along with Thanksgiving, there was a continuation of the birthday festival for me !

I am so blessed !

These are just some of the sweet and loving birthday gifts I received !

I think the glow from this wonderful weekend will last for a long while…

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones !

Enjoy the gifts of this fine Fall day !

They say it’s your birthday !

Today this little girl

turned 48.

Happy Birthday, Kimbo !

I woke up early to receive phone calls from some of my favorite peeps.

And even got a home made banana bread baked for me by my Honey for breakfast.

After joyfully reading a whole bunch of sweet birthday wishes on Facebook,

I decided to take myself on an Artist Date in the studio.

I pretended I was at a Cold Play concert, listening to this album as I played :

I sang and danced along with Chris and the guys.

Chica even joined in the dancing for a couple of tunes.

And as the music played,

I created this two page spread in my moleskine art journal.

“The Buddha and her Garden”

(stencils, spray ink,Twinkling H2Os, Faber Castel pens and a blender, white gel pen)

I was so glad to see the beauty back after the uglies of yesterday.

(Though we have decided that uglies are necessary and valuable in their own right too.)

I also like that Buddha somehow became a woman here.

They say that all of us are the Buddha after all.

 

As I was soaking in the fact that I am 48 years old now,

I decided on one more major gift for myself.

I am going to work really, really hard at squashing the negative voices in my head,

and to stop the self-criticism that has been so much a part of my every day for so very long.

I am going to work to the best of my ability to turn

mean, cruel messages that I give myself

into positive, motivating and self-loving ones.

Starting today !

Starting right now.

So I am off to enjoy the rest of my birthday day.

Not sure where I am headed,

but I know that this beautiful, creative, shiny Rock Fairy Star

will be shining brightly as I go !

Thanks to all for the sweet, sweet birthday love !!!

Love and light!

And the Winners Are …

Chica the Yellow Lab asks :

“So who are the winners of your 700th Post Giveaway, Momma ?”

Well, sweet Chica of mine, with help from the Random Number Generator, the following three people have been chose to win :

Prize Package #1 goes to

Comment # 40, Andrea of Falling Ladies !

Prize package #2 goes to

Lynn (and Henry the beautiful Cat) of Getting My Feet Wet!

And the final Prize Package #3 goes to

Lynne Hoppe !

I will have fun packaging up your prizes and sending them off to you early this week

with lots of Queen of Arts Love!

*************

Speaking of Momma and big LOVE,

I want to send a big Happy Birthday Shout Out to my Beautiful Mommy, Nadeja,(pronounced Nadia) today !

It looks like it will be a Nadeja festival for my Mom’s birthday this year !

Today is the official day but we will continue the celebration in two weeks when she comes down here for a visit ! Yay !

I love you so much, Mommy and wish you healthy, joy-filled, peaceful and life-loving moments in each and every day !

Congrats to the winners ! I will send you off an email to get your mailing addresses today !

Happy Spring Sunday !

Haiku My Heart Friday–The Red Tutu

Edited *** A few weeks back, my lovely friend Meri, shared a pic of herself with a beautiful red tutu that she had received from the amazing Deb at Talk at The Table  (not my friend amazing Deb Taylor at Deb Did It  as I originally posted  - Sorry to have gotten my Debs confused but thankful to have discovered Deb C. and her lovely inspiring blog through this !) to celebrate her birthday.

Meri did the sweet deed and then offered to pass the tutu on to someone who had a birthday later in the year.

Guess who jumped on the opportunity to share such a gift ?!

My birthday is on Sunday but I will be away in Canada with my family.

So today seemed like the perfect day top celebrate my Self !

Here I am in my Rock Fairy Uniform, featuring the beautiful, fluffy red tutu hand made by Deb !

David, my best cheerleader, but who I am sure thinks I am just a little nutso, helped me with the photo shoot ! (A little ?)

I even wrote a haiku in celebration of this sweet event :

The Red Tutu came

Full of love, laughter and fun.

My Self wore it well ! 

It was great fun to be silly, to not care about what anyone else thought and to just be me in all my Rock Fairy, Princess in a Tutu, 46 (almost) year old glory !

A funny thing happened too, as I was editing this crazy fun photos.

When I came to this photo, which I love, love, love…

I was instantly reminded of this photo I have blown up and sitting in my studio :

She is still in there, that 5 year old me. Shiny and bright, 41 years later.

Somewhere along the lines, she sure did learn the lesson well.

Use those wings, Beautiful Ones !

And a tutu too, if that works for you !

This is our one, precious life.

Let’s Live It Out LOUD !!!

Big Love !

 

Haiku Lovers, head over to recuerda mi corazon for more lovely word play.

For today, Monday, October 3rd.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it is grey, and probably about to rain. The leaves on our maples are still green for the most part and have just started falling…

I am thinking...about next weekend, Canadian Thanksgiving and my BIRTHDAY !!! Mostly I am thinking about the logistics about travel, dog kenneling, where we are sleeping when we get there, where the turkey will be cooked, etc…

I am thankful...that my cruddy cold that lingered all weekend is easing off today and that I have a bit more energy to get some stuff done !

In the kitchen... Mother Mailhot’s kitchen is bare but I am dreaming of chili with tons of veggies in it, topped with sour cream, cilantro and lime.

I am wearing...a blue cotton nightshirt & flip flops.

I am creating...samples of “car jewelry” that I am making for my annual crafty gifts for the staff at my mom’s office, pages in my Creative Sistah Lori’s sketchbook, and a huge mess on my studio table ! Creating is messy in my world !

I am going...to the post office, to the grocery store (chili ingredients !!!), and then to meditation class tonight.

I am wondering...why the days seem to be flying so very, very quickly…it is almost scary…

I am reading...very little these days, other than Facebook and blogs. I am listening to “Something Borrowed” by Emily Giffin in audiobook format before bed.

I am hoping...I can work through is very achy neck and shoulder to keep up with production needed for crafts fairs, Christmas gifts and Rock Fairy demands.

I am looking forward to... doing a photo shoot of myself this week with a very special prop !

I am hearing...the hum of the computer and the distant roar of the garbage trucks. Quiet Monday morning.

Around the house...it is actually pretty tidy, other than my studio table, as David and I tag-teamed it yesterday and captured all dust kangas in the vacuum cleaner.

I am pondering...how it got to be 10:00am and I am still glued to the computer…again…

One of my favorite things...putting clean sheets on the bed and plugging in the twinkle lights in the bedroom last night. Cozy and romantic. Fall nesting, I think.

A few plans for the rest of the week: lots of stuff in the studio, lunch with Lois on Tuesday, a trip to the beach at low tide for some rock gathering and finally, a drive up to Montreal and La Conception for the long (my birthday!!!) weekend.

Here are some pictures I am sharing...

My two pages in Lori’s sketchbook for the month of September. Man, how that month flew !!! It is off into the mail today to you, Jennifer !

Okay, off of the computer and back to the studio table !

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones !!

I am One Thankful Queen !

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.

~Meister Eckhart

So I haven't been around much this week. I have been busily putting together and sending off "Rock My World" rock orders that Patti and I received, which has been such a pleasure. I am also working on those birdies that some of you have expressed interest in so I can put a few in the Etsy shop, and still have enough to have an inventory at the craft fair in November.



All the while happily working like a little house elf, I have been thinking about some wonderful, phenomenal gifts that I have received lately, many of them for my birthday and others just gifts of real friendship and love that I am so very grateful for.


Finally this morning, I have some time to edit some photos and put some words together to express some gratitude for all the Kimbo Love I have been getting !

Let's go back to last Friday when it was actually my birthday. I had a fantastic drive up to Montreal. I was loving the beautiful Fall colors in spite of the few raindrops that were falling. I even snapped a couple of photos while driving. Dangerous but definitely one of the joys of digital !

happy driver

check out those colors !

How did I center this while going 70 ? ;)

Friday night I was treated like a Queen ! My sweet Mommy took me shopping at the MAC Cosmetic counter where they did me up real nice and then she bought me some new juicy colors of make-up that add some sparkle to my face to go along with my new short hair. Then it was off to dinner with Sister Nat, nephew Nathan, brother-in-law Dave, Uncles Nick and Charlie, Cousin Matt, sweet Aunt Lise and Mommy. The food was really, really bad at the quaint Italian place we went but the company was so awesome.

Not too many photos of that night as I was just hanging out and enjoying the evening.Here is Nick, Natalie, Mom, Nathan and Me.

Saturday, I headed north to La Conception for our Thanksgiving get together at Kristina and John's house.

Katie and Me !

The woods were a little dangerous due to some bear issues (yes, bear issues !) around the area so we went for a lovely walk in the farmer's fields instead. Check out those gorgeous mountains in the distance !

My 18 year old niece Jessica and my sister Nat - mom and daughter love !

The three sisters - Nat, Kristina and Me - had some silly and fun sister time !

We enjoyed a fire outside, some good card games inside, some beautiful leaf peeping, nice family chats, and not to mention, some awesome turkey and all the fixings thanks to Kristina (with a little help from her friends). A spectacular weekend.

I received so many gifts - material ones, some I gave to myself, and gifts of love and time that made my heart feel so very, very good.

Today I gathered just some of them together to take a photo.

Clockwise - fingerless gloves I bought for myself (check out the amazing stuff katwise does with old sweaters!), hand made card from Thomas, sweet card from my mommy, gorgeous purse I bought for myself in this amazing boutique in Mont Tremblant, the amazing mermaid my friend Lois created and had a wonderful creative time doing it, THE Journal from Arlene from the Canadian Chickie's journal swap, a beautiful necklace from Kristina featuring a charm with a moon on it just like the moon was on the night I was born 44 years ago, and a sweet smelling "escape" soy candle from my Aunt Lise.

Isn't she lovely, with her sparkly tail and her twisted wire hair ??? Made of love...

44 years ago on October 9th, the moon was FULL ! How cool is that ?

Isn't this purse fit for a Queen of Arts? Love it !

And now for a little more about Arlene's magical journal. You may remember back in May when we Canadian Chickies did our apron swap and Arlene made me the most beautiful, magical and lovely Mermaid Apron. Well, that talented lady decided that 2009 was to be the Year of the Mermaid - which is absolutely perfect for mermaid loving me ! So my journal from her for our journal swap carries that sweet theme. What was also cool was that the journal was waiting for me at my Mom's on Friday so it became part of the birthday treats too !

Arlene used a children's book version of The Little Mermaid , chopped it up and added key pieces to the journal, like the cover.

Look at these luminescent blue pages just waiting for my journal writing, paint and gluing fun.

The illustrations from the original book make perfect additions - I can already imagine some stuff to add to this page !

Arlene also added in some of her gorgeous sewing technique where she adds treasure beneath a layer of tulle.

Love this page !!!

I can't wait to dive in and frolic under the sea in my beautiful Mermaid Journal !

Thank you so much, Lovely Arlene, for all the love, creativity and care you put into this work of art. I truly love it !

It is hard to write a post that expresses all the joy, love and good stuff that has been floating around me lately. There are always the mundane or mean things too...that is life on this planet, I know. But there is something to be said about focusing on what is right in your little world. It absolutely, without a doubt in my mind, has begun to bring me more of what is right. Tons more really! So along with expressing the tons of gratitude I feel for all the gifts I have been receiving, I offer some encouragement for my fellow women and men on this journey with me. Focus on what is right and good, even if it is in the tiniest way, and see what happens. You may just make a difference for someone else, and you may just make a big difference for yourself. Now, wouldn't that be a gift ?

What's right with you today, beautiful Ones ?

As for me, I am off to frolic in my sea...