The Infertile Mind

Sun salutation and personal affirmations....

Back when I was doing Wii Fit, I learned their modified version of the Sun Salutation.  It's a nice way to start my mind and body each day.  I even started adding in my own personal affirmations.  Here they are along side the notes on movements.

• Inhale as you bring your hands together.

           "I begin my day with calm and focus."

• Then stretch up, reach as high as you can, and feel your spine lengthen.

            "I reach up to the heavens for warmth and inspiration."

• While keeping your balance steady lean backwards slightly and feel your abdomen and spine stretch.

            "I lean back into the positive, easy, abundant flow of my life."

• As you slowly exhale bend forward and touch your toes, empty your lungs completely and hold for a moment.

            "I reach down to stay grounded with my faith and values."

• Slowly inhale again as you squat. Keep your spine straight as you bend your legs and then slowly raise your arms.

            "I rise up to growth and possibilities of each new day."

Have a slow day.....

 
I recently got this book, In Praise of Slow: Challenging the Cult of Speed , free via my Bookmooch.com account. I haven't had a ton of time to devote to yet but I am intrigued by the concept of it being okay to slow down and in fact that we need to slow down to really enjoy life.  I found this passage on page 29 stood out to me, as I've tried this technique first hand unwittingly in the midst of grieving.

"Time-sickness can also be a symptom of a deeper, existenial malaise.  In the final stages before burnout, people often speed up to avoid confronting issues.  Kundera thinks that speeds helps us to block out the horror and barrennss of the modern world: "Our period is obsessed with the desire to forget, and it is fulfill that desire that it gives over to the demon of speed; it picks up the pace to show us that it no longer wishes to be remembered, that it is tired of itself, sick of itself: that it wants to blow out the tiny trembling flame of memory."

To learn more about author Carl Honore, why he wrote this book and the Slow movement, check out his website at: http://www.carlhonore.com/?page_id=6

So, here's to having a slow day!

World's most spoiled dog

This is my beloved beagle in one of his many nightly "pitiful" poses. Don't be fooled, this precious little face can be quite a little food terror.

However, with a face like this he gets away with everything! I love little beagle's face and spoiling him. He doesn't seem to mind, either.

More fun with decoupage

 

This past weekend I had my beloved sister-in -law and niece over for our monthly crafting afternoon. My SIL gave me this idea to decoupage a clipboard.

With the help of my beautiful Somerset magazines my onetime boring brown clipboard turned out downright inspiring. Check it out here - front above and back below. Pictures taken with Hipstamatic iPhone app - love it!

Have you ever seen a flower headed monster?

 

When I attended Squam Art Workshops last September (one of the best things I've ever done for myself), I met some of the most amazing women ever.  And they continue to be wonderful friends, even from afar.  One of these lovely ladies is Liz, who writes one of my favorite blogs called Enjoy and Love - That's Enough.  She sent me one her whimsical creations, A Flower Headed Monster, which sold like hotcakes at Squam.  I am loving my Blue Beauty and he keeps me company here at my keyboard!  She also put together this awesome little video called, "Birth of a Monster" showing how she makes them. Check it out:

 

Where I really write you from....

 
This picture was inspired by Jen Lee's post about sharing our "Real Spaces" so here's my real space where I do most of my blog posts and all of my work.  (You can't see the other half, which is my husband's office and world, hence the Wrigley Field picture in the middle.) For fun, see if you can find:

- My Wonder Woman Statue (one big one and one small one!)

- My "Baa-Baa" or water bottle/travel mug.  (I can't go anywhere without this thing but it did break me from my plastic water bottle habit.  My husband gave it the nickname, "Baa Baa".  When I asked him what it was really called he said, "I don't know - an adult sippy cup?"  Thanks for the help, honey.)

- My Wii Bowling trophy (I got this for being on the winning team at a client's holiday party - no pressure but my team had won the past 2 years.  I was so stressed out about it that I had my stepson coach me.  I highly recommend him if you need coaching, too!  Just don't ask questions and do what he says no matter how weird you look.)

- My Cleanwell All-Natural Hand Sanitizer (no alcohol - I love this stuff!)

- Just for Liz: My Flower Headed Monster (coming soon in a future post!)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the peek into my real world.

Decoupage with mercy, frugality and humility....

 
This page is the front inside page of my transformed art journal featuring words & details from Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations by Dr. Wayne Dyer.  This is a very long verse so I'm just going to share my favorite section here,

"From mercy comes courage.

From frugality comes generosity.

From humility comes leadership.

Now if one were bold but had no mercy,

if one were broad but were not frugal,

if one went ahead without humility,

one would die." 

P.S. If you want to see.... here's the front and back of the journal decorated with old Winnie the Pooh books.

 

 

 

Decoupage and trusting your inner vision....

 
 Here is another decoupage project - a transformed old journal - where I used more words & details from Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations by Dr. Wayne Dyer.  This inside back page features the 12th verse of the Tao Te Ching:

"The five colors blind the eye.

The five tones deafen the ear.

The five flavors dull the taste.

The chase and the hunt craze people's minds.

Wasting energy to obtain rare objects only impedes one's growth.

The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. (My favorite line!)

He allows things to come and go.

He prefers what is within to what is without."

Decoupage with a message.....

 
 
A few years ago I bought the Dr. Wayne Dyer book, Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations.  It's a lovely little book with beautiful details, artwork & words that I would go back to from time to time.  However, now that I'm obsessed with decoupage I decided to pull out the most meaningful messages to me and incorporate them into my creative space.  The jar pictured above reads, "In all of nature, no storm can last forever."

The jar below reads, "Because I know that I do not know, I am guided to find my own way."

 

A little piece of unexpected family history...

For Christmas my mom bought me some earrings (not these but kind of similar) and I really liked them but they broke almost immediately.  I usually wear small silver hoops and don't stray from the norm.  But I liked the longer earrings she'd picked out for me so I started digging through some old jewelry my mom had given me ages ago.

I found these earrings and I thought they were lovely.  I called my mom to tell her, since I knew she was disappointed the others hadn't worked out and she was delighted.  Then she told me that my great grandfather was a jeweler who made these earrings (and the ones behind them).  I had no idea and I am loving wearing them now!