Compassion

Bean of Coyote Craft posted this.... and I just had to repost it.

"Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary.

Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion... is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception."

~ Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

A celebration of us

I'm truly lucky.

This Sunday marks an anniversary for Darby and I as this date marks the first time we saw each other face to face in the eastern baggage claim at Denver International Airport. I remember standing by a support pillar seeing her for the first time and a very big smile came over my face.

"She's so incredibly beautiful," I thought to myself, glowing so brightly it must've caught her attention.

Our eyes met.

Somehow in that moment - I just knew. Somehow in that moment - I think she knew too.

Officially I started emailing her several months prior -- nervous as all get out -- not knowing if she'd ever respond or even have an interest. I'm rather insecure about why people like me - an unfortunate casualty deeply rooted from my awkward high school and college days. But here she stood before me, deeply interested and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.

I fell in love of the promise of her someday.

On February 1st, 2003 -- that promise came true for me.

I realize I haven't been the best relationship partner and I'll be the first to admit that I'm no where close to being perfect in any sense of the word, but I feel truly blessed to have Darby in my life and I'm forever grateful that she took that leap of faith moment to reply back to me and to make the journey to Colorado in early springtime. For it was this moment - in 2003 - that I knew I had something special and words still escape the feelings I have even to this day.

I love you very much Darby.
Love,
-M

New Attitude

I am cheering as tonight I cleaned my studio. Which sounds probably silly but the thought really is - I was ABLE to clean my studio. I still ache and can't bend completely but hardly any pain walking and able to move around fairly normal. I am hoping tomorrow I can get a little housework done. I know I will need to take it slow to make sure I am not pushing.

My whole attitude tonight is so different because of my knee finally feeling better.

100 Things | West Wing

15. I am a HUGE West Wing fan.

I mean HUGE! Just talking writing about it right now will give me this need to watch it again.

In 2004, I was folding clothes in the living room so flipping through channels trying to find something to watch while I did that task I dislike so much. And I found repeats of West Wing on Bravo. It ended up being a very moving episode in which I ended up in tears (not hard to do in the first place.) Michael was passing through the living room and stopped to watch some with me - and well from there he was hooked. He had never really seen it before. And the writing of West Wing is really amazing so that it was hard for us to not become addicted. We ended up recording episodes from there and watching it daily.

Eventually we started slowly getting the seasons on DVD. And it one we go to often. We will have West Wing days where we will snuggle up on the couch and watch West Wing all day. Recently we hooked Michael's parents on it.

It doesn't matter how many times we have seen them. We still cheer, cry (okay so I cry and Michael doesn't), laugh and get invested in it. It is good entertainment, good life lessons plus it taught me some things about government I didn't know before. I mean Josh's lessons to Donna alone were good refreshers of how the government works.

I could never name a favorite episode because there are so many. You should hear me when we are watching the DVD's - the start of the episode will come on and it will jog my memory of which one it is and I turn to Michael and say this is a good one. And if I don't do it at the beginning I always do it at the end saying that was a good one. Almost almost EVERY episode I say that. I also don't have a favorite character because I love them all. Each has great depth of personality and passion.

What spawned this 100 things post was I found this video that does the West Wing theme/opening but with President Obama and his staff.

Quote from Living the Creative Life

From Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery: "Most of us think there's a right way to do everything, from the "right way" to brush your teeth, to the "right way" to paint a picture (like Rembrandt or Jackson Pollock, but not like your five-year-old nephew). Most of us given a canvas, a brush and a set of paints and told, "Paint a tree," would be terrified. A Tree? What kind of tree? How big? What shades of green should I use? We'll search the internet for photographs and paintings of trees, hoping to learn the "right way" to paint such a thing."

(just adding the image of a tree that I did for a round robin altered book - I like that tree I just put the paper that I cut that tree from paper that I basically used as a scrap piece of paper to paint on top of - and then I just added a little more paint to it and cut a tree out.)

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful...
1. For being able to witness history in watching the Inauguration on the 20th.
2. For having a new president - President Obama!
3. For the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen - chili in the crockpot and a pumpkin pie in the oven right now
4. For ice pack for my knee
5. For my website being uploaded with the new design. I am grateful I am finally done with it. On the other hand though it always happens with me. I redesign it and then I am not happy with it and have 10 million other ideas in my head for it. But I am grateful I at least have a new design up as I was really sick of the old one.
6. For all the inspiration around me.

Blog Hopping

Tablescaping - a blog dedicated to different tablescapes (deocrating the table basically with dishes, tablecloth, centerpiece and so on - someone asked me what tablescape means)

Felt Votive Centerpiece on Design Sponge - so cute in its simplicity. (I love the website design of Design Sponge - wish I would have done it!)

And because Design Sponge is up for a design award for the bloggies listing the link to vote in the 2009 Weblog Awards

Captured....Yesterday

This link has amazing photos of yesterday....breathtaking...

Captured - Inauguration Day

Adding this link to the prayer at this mornings service.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing my Dad a VERY Happy 60th Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration today! Sending you love!

The Journey Begins...

I know I won't have words for today. As said many times it is history in the making. In 2004, Michael and I heard just a little clip on CNN of a speech by Obama (weren't hooked on MSNBC at that time). I turned to Michael and said one day that man will be president. I didn't know anything about him. I had never heard him speak before. But that night how he spoke and more importantly the words he spoke were powerful and moved me. And that hasn't changed. When I listen to him, I am nodding in agreement and end up feeling hopeful - in a way I have never felt.

So today I am going to be spend my day glued to the TV. I will have kleenex box near me as I usually am so moved by Obama and in a few hours I can say "President Obama."

We are One

I watched the We are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday on HBO with Michael. We were disappointed that HBO didn't air Rev. Gene Robinson's opening prayer. Supposedly it was the Inaugural committees fault. But still it was odd to me. If you didn't know Rev. Gene Robinson is an openly gay bishop of the Episcopalian Church. (Read the text and watch the youtube video)

Many things said and sang at the concert made me tear up. I am going to need a kleenex box planted next to me during this whole Inauguration.

So my favorite part of the concert was U2. I have been fans of theirs since high school - maybe junior high. As always Bono got political which of course at this type of concert was the right place. He commented that Obama's election is "not just an American dream but also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli dream and also a Palestinian dream." I also liked what he said about four Irish boys..."What a thrill for four Irish boys from the north side of Dublin to honour you sir, Barack Obama, to be the next president of the United States." They sang one of my favorites Pride(In The Name Of Love)- which is their tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

So here is U2 form the concert....



* by the way the link above to We are One Concert is to HBO and it says watch now so looks like you can watch it online there.

2008 Book List

This is the list of books I read in 2008...

Ratings:
1 star = didn't like it
2 stars = it was okay
3 stars = liked it
4 stars = really liked it
5 stars = it was amazing/great


1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (read 2 times) - 5 stars
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (read 2 times) - 5 stars
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (read 2 times) - 5 star
4. Marked (House of Night, Bk. 1) by PC Cast & Kristin Cast - 3 stars
5. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - 5 stars
6. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong - 3 stars
7. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - 3 stars
8. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - 4 stars (this review does contain a few small spoilers and also explains why I didn't give it 5 stars - now that I don't have such lingering feelings over the book I could probably give it a 5 as it is a book I would read again)
9. Betrayed: House of Night, Bk 2 by PC Cast & Kristin Cast - 3 stars
10. The Fiery Cross (Outlander series) by Diana Gabaldon - 4 stars
11. The Princess Bride by William Goldman - 4 stars (but really could have made the book go down in stars if I included the intro by William Goldman - it is the anniversary special edition of the book and his intro irritated the heck out of me talking about money)
12. A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander series) by Diana Gabaldon - 4 stars
13. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - 2 stars
14. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld - 3 stars
15. Photo Decor by Donna Downey - 4 stars
16. Specials by Scott Westerfield - 4 stars
17. Designers' Stationery: How Designers and Design Companies Present Themselves to the World by Roger Walton - 3 stars
18. Visual Thesaurus: A Quick-Flip Brainstorming Tool for Graphic Designers by Chris Goveia, Hatmaker - 2 stars
19. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel - 5 stars
20. The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - 5 stars
21. The valley of horses by Jean M. Auel - 5 stars
22. Scrapbooking techniques for beginner by Rebekah Meier - 4 stars
23. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean Auel - 5 stars
24. Tim Holtz Distressables 2 by Tim Holtz - 4 stars
25. What about Words? Creative Journaling for Scrapbookers by Memory Makers Books - 4 stars
26. The Plains of the Passage by Jean Auel - 4 stars
27. 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas by Memory Makers Books - 4 stars
28. The Shelters of Stone by Jean Auel - 4 stars
29. Scrapbooking Made Easy by Simple Scrapbooks - 3 stars
30. Creating Keepsakes' Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking by Tracy White - 5 stars (book I would like to own one day)
31. Keepers of the Light by Diane Chamberlain - 4 stars
32. Kiss River by Diane Chamberlain - 3 stars
33. Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain - 4 stars
--- The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold -- didn't finish
34. Acrylic Revolution: New Tricks & Techniques for Working With the World's Most Versatile Medium by Nancy Reyner - 3 stars
35. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - 5 stars
36. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain - 5 stars
37. Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista - 2 stars
38. Courage Tree by Diane Chamberlain - 3 stars
39. Scrapbook Fundamentals: Your Guide to Getting Started by Memory Makers - 4 stars
40. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho - 3 stars
41. Chosen: A House of Night Novel (Bk. 3) by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast - 3 stars
42. Stamp Artistry: Combining Stamps with Beadwork, Carving, Collage, Etching, Fabric, Metalwork, Painting, Polymer Clay, Repousse, and More - 4 stars
by Rice Freeman-Zachery
43. Designer Scrapbooks with April Cornell by April Cornell - 4 stars
44. Summer People by Marge Piercy - 4 stars
45. Handmade Greeting Cards by Maureen Crawford - 4 stars
46. Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artists by Lynne Perrella - 3 stars
47. Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves me Back and How You Can Too by Shauna James Ahern - 3 stars
48. Beneath the Skin by Nicci French - 2 stars
49. How to Organize Your Scrapbook Workspace: Storage Solutions for Any Budget by Memory Makers Books - 4 stars
50. The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation by Paulo Coehlo - 3 stars
51. Extras by Scott Westerfeld - 4 stars
52. PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern - 4 stars
53. Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn - 4 stars
54. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton - 1 star
55. Christopher Lowell's You Can Do It! Small Spaces: Decorating to Make Every Inch Count by Christopher Lowell - 2 stars
56. Bread for Breakfast by Beth Hensperger - 5 stars
57. The Book of Us: A Guide to Scrapbooking About Relationships by Angie Pedersen - 2 stars
58. Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell - 3 stars
59. The Altered Book Scrapbook by Susan Ure - 3 stars
60. Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn - 3 stars
61. Natural Cleaning for Your Home by Casey Kellar - 3 stars
62. The Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn - 3 stars
63. Rightsizing Your Life by Ciji Ware - 2 stars
64. The Escape Artist by Diane Chamberlain - 4 stars
65. Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn - 5 stars
66. Handbook for Hosts by Adam Bluestein - 5 stars
67. Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery - 5 stars
68. Catch Me When I Fall by Nicci French - 2 stars
69. Killing Me Softly by Nicci French - 4 stars
70. The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook - 4 stars
71. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness by Paulo Coehlo - 5 stars
72. Decorating Small Spaces: Living Large in Any Space by BHG - 2 stars
73. The New Book of Table Settings: Creative Ideas for the Way We Gather Today by Chris Bryant, Paige Gilchrist - 4 stars
74. In the Royal Manner: Expert Advice on Etiquette and Entertaining from the Former Butler of Diana, Princess of Wales by Paul Burrell - 3 stars
75. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance - 1 star
76. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - 3 stars
77. The Venetian's Wife: A Strangely Sensual Tale of a Renaissance Explorer, a Computer, and a Metamorphosis by Nick Bantock - 4 stars
78. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg, Zoe FranCois - 5 stars
79. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver - 2 stars
80. Brave on the Rocks: If You Don't Go, You Don't See by Sabrina Ward Harrison - 5 stars
81. 10-minute Decorating: 176 Fabulaous Shortcuts with Style by Susan Ure - 2 stars
82. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr - 3 stars
83. Loving and Leaving the Good Life by Helen Nearing - 4 stars
84. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger, Julie Kaufmann - 4 stars
85. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr - 3 stars
86. The Host: A Novel by Stepenie Meyers - 5 stars
87. The American Century Cookbook by Jean Anderson - 4 stars
88. Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Kitty Norville, Book 4) by Carrie Vaughn - 5 stars
89. Decorative Painting Made Easy by BHG - 4 stars
90. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - 3 stars
91. Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson, Mary Beth Lagerborg - 3 stars
92. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause - 4 stars
93. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - 3 stars
94. Real Simple: The Organized Home by Editors of Real Simple Magazine - 4 stars
95. Unveiled: Tamar (Lineage of Grace #1) by Francine Rivers - 3 stars
96. Cheesecake Extroadinaire: More than 100 Sumptuous Recipes for the Ultimate Dessert by Mary Crownover - 4 stars
97. Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos and Altered Books by Linda Woods, Karen Dinino - 5 stars
98. Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins and More: 200 Anytime Treats and Special Sweets for Morning to Midnight by Carole Walter - 5 stars
99. Handmade Christmas: The Best of Martha Stewart Living by Martha Stewart Living Magazine - 3 stars
100. Sarah: Women of Genesis by Orson Scott Card - 4 stars
**also in here I read Eat Pray Love again (4th time this year)
101. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith - 2 stars
102. Homespun Christmas by Gooseberry Patch - 4 stars
103. Old-Fashioned Country Christmas by Gooseberry Patch - 4 stars
104. Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood book 1) by J.R. Ward - 3 stars
105. Love Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood book 2) by J.R. Ward - 3 stars
106. RubyGrapfruit by Rita Mae Brown - 4 stars
107. Fix-it and Forget-it Recipes for Entertaining by Phyllis Pellman Good - 3 stars
108. The Adulteress by Philippa Carr - 3 star
109. The Paint Effects Bible: 100 Recipes for Faux Finishes by Kerry Skinner - 5 stars
110. Unveiled: How an American Woman Found Her Way Through Politics, Love and Obedience in the Middle East by Deborah Kanafani - 4 stars
111. Collage Sourcebook: Exploring the Art and Technique of Collage by Jennifer Atkinson, Holly Harrison, Paula Grasdal - 4 stars
112. Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger - 4 stars
113. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk - 3 stars
114. Fix-It And Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Phyllis Pellman Good - 4 stars
115. Little Children by Tom Perrotta - 3 stars
116. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - 4 stars
117. The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World by Lynn Alley - 5 stars
118. SoulCollage: An Intuitive Collage Process for Individuals and Groups by Seena B. Frost - 5 stars
119. Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin - 4 stars
120. Last-Minute Christmas Gifts: Crafting Quick & Classy Presents for Everyone on Your List by Carol Taylor - 2 stars
And then Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Ended the year by reading it a 5th time

I have most of them reviewed on Goodreads.

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful...
1. That although I have a very swollen and sore knee - I got through the filming and did some set up.
2. For really good chili fries for dinner! Junk food I think tastes even better when not feeling well.
3. For the arrival of 2 books I ordered using some of the amazon gift certificate my sisters gave us for Christmas.
4. For inspiration found in those books.
5. For Michael - as always he just has been amazing with me being down and out. Taking care of me - making sure I am elevating and icing. Getting up in the middle of the night to get me more ibuprofen. Just doing everything he can to make sure I am comfortable.

Face Plant on the Driveway

Always a great way to start the day by doing a face plant on the driveway. I was walking to the car and looking at the things in my hand to make sure I had everything and tripped. I landed half on the driveway and half into the snow next to the driveway. My face and all the stuff in my hands ended up in the snow. And my knee hit the driveway hard.

When I first came into the house, I couldn't put any weight on my left leg/knee. Now after icing it - it is weight bearing. Bruised and battered looking but movable (mostly). Thank goodness. We leave for Denver this afternoon. Hopefully I will be able to film tomorrow. I think filming is possible as I would just be able to sit and film. I don't think I will be able to help with set up though and that will almost kill me watching Michael do that all on his own.

Art Journal 2009

For Christmas 2006, my sister Michelle gave me a little suede covered journal. And in it she wrote a little sweet note about using to create. I have wanted to do an art journal in it but it is one of those things I always have thought in my mind "I need to do it everyday" so it stopped me as I knew I would never be able to keep it up everyday. So this year I finally gave myself permission to not create in it everyday. Mostly after reading Visual Chronicles and Living the Creative Life.

So I don't expect to create in it everyday, but I hope to capture either moments that were important to me or just be creative without worrying about the "right away." It is my test ground for things. It is where I can do as little or as much as I want. Whatever I need in the moment to express.

My first entry in it is my favorite as it really represents me right now and of how I have felt at times and especially in turning 40.



Quote that is on the left hand side is from The Mermaid Chair: "I lived molded to the smallest space possible, my days the size of little beads that passed without passion through my fingers. So few people know what they're capable of. At forty (42) I'd never done anything that took my own breath away, and I suppose now that was part of the problem--my chronic inability to astonish myself."

(the book had 42 but I used 40 for me although I am 41)

It is acrylic paint on the background with rubber stamped images to just give it a little more texture (I am all about texture) and beads glued on - and then a mermaid that I had in my stack of ephemera that I painted just every so lightly.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

This year I did lots of homemade gifts as we had a big investment in our business recently. My other criteria was I needed simple just like the clothes pins and little notebooks as I didn't have a lot of time this year as we were so busy with work.

So here are a few simple gifts I made...

Two frames - one for each set of parents. The frames I picked up at Dollar Tree. They were really flat plain wooden frames - perfect for embellishing. The ripped up paper is layered and glued on the frame. The paper is from a daily meditation/devotion book - and I used all the love, marriage and companionship type entries.


A frame for Michael's parents with a photo he took of them at their 50th Wedding Anniversary party. I rubbed antiquing tint on it with a sponge and then turquoise blue as it is a favorite color of Michael's Mom. And then they both really enjoy scrabble so I used scrabble type letters to spell out love.


This one was for my parents. The photo is one that Michael took of them when they were here for my birthday in October. On my parents I rubbed with antiquing tint again but then used white over it instead of the blue like Michael's parents frame. I embellished with scrapbooking elements.


And then I made this for my Dad. It is a clipboard that I picked up at again Dollar Tree. It has a little slide hanger on it so it can be hung up. I just basically did a scrapbooking layout on it. I glued down 3 different papers, then 3 photos on top were again from October when my parents visited that I roughed up around the edges. I embellished with tags and other little bits.

Visual Chronicles

We got home from Denver maybe 30 minutes ago but I didn't want to forget to do this so signed online right away...

Last night before bed I was reading from Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods & Karen Dinino. It is a book that Michael got me for my birthday and I love. The sub-title to it is "The No-Fear Guide to Creating ART JOUNRALS, Creative manifestos and altered books."

Anyway..here is the quote I wanted to share...

"I AM ART. Say it loud and say it strong. You are art -- right here and now. You do not have to do anything to be "artistic" or learn anything special to be quotable. You are a living, breathing, perfect example of art. You are color, light, form, words, song, sound....You are a unique, ever-growing, ever-changing masterpiece."

I think that last part of..."You are color, light, form..." is really amazing.

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful...
1. for a productive and successful day of work/business.
2. for a much more relaxed set up and take down of equipment. It takes us an hour but we have felt rushed the last few times and this time was much more laid back. I think we are getting the hang of it.
3. for being able to have Frank's famous spaghetti and meatball dinner while here in Denver. They are SO GOOD!
4. for Michael finishing a wedding video he had been working on. He put lots of time into it and I am thankful he is done with it. It of course turned out amazing as he is a very talented man.
5. for time with family.

I recognize that I have much more to be thankful for in my life.

Crafts @ Christmas

We get peanuts at Sam's in the BIG tins. I have thought there has to be things I can do with them. And I have used a couple for art supplies. But then I thought for Christmas they might make good treat tins. This is the tin I did for Michael's parents.


I had 2 simple little crafts I did this year that I included I think in everyone's Christmas presents. The first is what I was calling gratitude journals. Just little journals to jot down gratitude as you think of it or need. I then expanded it to wish journals, simple pleasure, everyday moments, ideas, memories and so on. So the next 2 pictures are just a sampling of a few of them.





The other craft that was so so simple. I painted clothes pins and then used rubber stamps on them. On the back of the clothes pins I attached magnets. So little magnet memo clips....

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful...
1. for a wonderful holiday - Christmas and New Years were very nice, quiet and relaxing
2. for tea, hot chocolate and hot apple cider - hot beverages during the cold cold winter
3. for a great phone call from a friend...we laughed and shared and I am thankful for our phone call and more importantly for my friend. And we made a resolution that we would have a monthly phone call.
4. for finding a 50% off coupon for Michael's and having a Michael's gift certificate that I got for my birthday and hadn't used yet. So going there tomorrow.
5. for the Penzeys Spices that a good friend gave me for Christmas. When I opened them, they filled the house with wonderful aroma so I couldn't wait to use them.

Happy 2009!