Creativity - Are You In????

Well, we've finished installing the shelving in the craft closet, so I can start to get my craft room back in order.  And just in the nick of time.  You see, a fellow blogger has issued a challenge.  Leslie at Words of Me Project has proposed a creativity challenge that will last for 31 days beginning on July 26.  During those 31 days, we are to do something creative every day.  Whether it's writing in your journal, scrapbooking or cardmaking, painting (yes, painting walls counts), gardening, photography or whatever else is in your creative veins.  Maybe it's a little bit of each. 

By the end of the 31 days, by taking the time to care for yourself, you are happier and healthier for it.  How can you go wrong??

So I'm in!!  I'm going to spend 31 days finding something creative to do, each and every day.  It might be taking some pictures, or creating some cards, or penning some deep thoughts!!  And I'll post some of it here. 

Would you like to join in this challenge??

OH, and along with my search for a new look to my blog, I've been encouraged by Leanne at From Chaos Comes Happiness to add a button.  She's the genius behind making buttons work, so I'll need her help to make this happen.  Watch for my button in the next day or two!!  It'll look something like this:

I guess I'm getting a head start on this creativity challenge!!

Through the Camera's Lens

As I mentioned previously, I'm taking a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking called Picture Spring.  In this class, we receive a prompt every day to look at things in your life with a new eye, and find the beauty in it to photograph.  Everything was going along great, I was having a lot of fun looking at my life each day.  One day you take a picture of what your life looks like first thing in the a.m.

Another day, you had to look up and find the beauty above you. 

Still another day, you had to drop to ground level to find what rocks your world.

And then...the dreaded "SELF-PORTRAIT" day came.  How many of us dread this challenge??  Tracey's email said "Spring is the season of renewal and rejuvenation. Beyond the blooms, our spirits feel alive! Today, as you soak it all in, capture yourself in a self-portrait. Celebrate yourself! You're worth the hoop-lah!"..... Right!!!! 

But I refused to be intimidated.  My reasoning to take this class was to grow in my photography skills.  I needed to do this!!

So I stood in front of a mirror and turned my camera around and snapped away.  I took countless pictures.  And I give to you, a cropped version of the picture I submitted for the class.  

I really don't like looking at pictures of myself but I have spent part of this morning thinking about why that is.  And I've come to the conclusion that it has a lot to do with your life as you are growing up.  I think many of us are told that it is vain if we like to look at ourselves.  Vanity was sinful, as I recall.  Isn't that interesting??  Because I am of the belief that in order to love another, you must love yourself.  Maybe you can love yourself and not like looking at yourself.  Is that it??  

So after all my pondering this morning, and actually looking more closely at this picture, I've decided that those little crows' feet around my eyes are caused by the laughter in my life.  So I will wear those crows' feet as a badge of honor, that I have a wonderful, laughter-filled, joyous life.  A life that brings me peace and serenity.  A life I am delighted to express gratitude for.   

Are you like me?  Do you dislike looking at pictures of yourself, but truly enjoy your life and all the laughter in it?  Maybe all it takes is a change of attitude!  Thanks for stopping by today.    

Whale or Mermaid??

Although this post is not personal in nature, I was quite entertained by the story I received in an email recently and thought I'd share it...

Recently, in a large city in France, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. 

Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.
If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them ... where is IT? Therefore, they don't have kids either.  Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.  Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think,

“Good grief, look how smart I am!”

Little Mermaid picture courtesy of:  http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/The-Little-Mermaid.jpg

Whale picture courtesy of:  http://fallengirl.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/killer-whale.jpg

Poker Chips

I have to admit, I have probably started a half dozen posts and none came alive as I typed.  So that's the reason I'm so late in posting something new.  But my dear friend, Leanne, posted something on her blog that got me to thinking about a topic that is so important for the survival of each and every one of us.  And even more so during a season that is filled with so much happiness and at the same time, so much sadness. 

When my daughter was in college, she wrote a paper about giving kids encouragement and praise to build up their bank account of self-esteem.  This was based on a book by Rick Lavoie called "When the Chips Are Down."  She and I affectionately refer to the whole concept as "poker chips" and  we still have conversations about the necessity to accumulate poker chips.  Jack Canfield, the originator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series maintains that it's not just kids who need poker chips.  We all do. 

Just as Leanne mentions in her blog, I no longer watch the news.  Do you remember back when one of the local networks would end their newscast on a positive note?  Always a story that would make you laugh or sigh a happy "life is good" sigh.  They might still do it for all I know.  I just think more people need more of that in their lives. 

The point I'm trying to make here is this:  Is it all that difficult to come up with positive, uplifting things in your everyday life?   The law of attraction tells us that what we think is what we draw to us.  Whether or not you believe in that (I'd love to hear how it's any different from prayer) it certainly couldn't hurt, right? 

Just think about this...you stand in the brightness of a warm sun and it lights you up, energizes you.  Conversely, you stand in a dreary, cold rain...how does that make you feel?  Don't you do the same thing with your thoughts?

I'm making a conscious decision to think of "feel good" things (or as one of my Texas friends would say, "chicken soup" things) that warm my soul.  I'm approaching this like it's an infection...the best possible infection that could be spread.  You with me???

Poker image courtesy of http://www.ehow.com/about_4571488_professional-poker-chips.html