52 Week Photo Project: Week 13

Well this photo wasn't taken by me, but it fulfills my requirement for what I wanted 52 Weeks to be about and that is capturing moments in my life.  This past week I had a chance to do some art and accidently put my hand in  the paint palette. When I pulled it away, I liked the way it looked so added a little more paint and then Michael took some photos of me with my hand in front of my face.

52 Lists: Week 12

Week 12 - List things that Feel Like Home
 Michael - my parents - my sisters - close friends - the kitty cats - tea with cream - Sunday Mornings - drives through Colorado - seeing the mountains - remembering on old memories - an old teddy bear and blanket  -  photographs of loved ones - my extended family and Michael’s family - hearing a North Dakota accent - art - expressing myself & creating in all sorts of different ways - chocolate pie made by my Mom - most anything  made by my Mom - snuggled up on the couch with Michael watching movies -  Thanksgiving - baking - cleaning - my notebooks - joy & compassion - connection - Asian food - Chocolate - books - Lefse

Challenge:  I will enjoy my home this week by....Being present at home as we have been out of town so much lately.

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful for...
1. receiving a coloring book from a dear friend before we left for Idaho. I love to color and it was a such a nice surprise.
2. Spring Weather even though my allergies are not liking it
3. Sunny day
4. Date with Michael to Red Robin - using a gift card he received for his birthday.
5. books that inspire me from the 1st page

From Now On

52 Week Photo Project: Week 12

On our way to Idaho this past week, we hit several rainstorms and after each one we saw rainbows.  I ended up snapping rainbow photo after rainbow photo.  Michael finally said, "No more or all your photos will be of rainbows" I replied, "there could be nothing better than rainbow photos!"

Here is the one I submitted for Week 12's photo....

52 Lists: Week 11

Right now a lot of my work on myself has been about seeking balance. Sometimes I know things, but I get to caught into the busy and life starts to drag me down so that I forget key elements of ME.  Doing art and making the time to do art is essential for keeping balance in my life. When I let it go, I fall down.  I start out just feeling a little off, then it moves to being blue and finally it will sink into a full depression that is hard to pull up and out of when I fall there. So really pushing hard to be able to have my balance.  I also have noticed that although other creative outlets help me from sinking - it is my art that really keeps me centered and grounded in ME.  

I have decided from now on that I am packing a little art kit to go with me on the road when Michael and I travel.  On our way to Idaho, I told Michael about it, but mentioned I was rushed and wished I had put a few other things in it. He stopped and bought me some supplies to supplement it.  He is amazing and so supportive of me and what I need. I am a very lucky woman!

Week 11: List Your Essenstials
* Michael
* Love
* Time with Michael
* Connection & Friendship
* Family
* Self -Kindness
* Artful living
* Gratitude
* Therapy
* Water
* Take Meds
* Sleep
* Movement
* Clean House
* Lists, notebooks, art journal
* Expressing myself through journaling, poetry, photography, art and just through the things I do daily
* Learning and Growing
* Being true to myself
* Seeing JOY in ordinary moments
* Make good Food choices
* Loyalty and Honesty
* Open and Understanding
* Exploring Life
* Compassion
* Reading
* Tea, lip balm, good lotion
* our kitty cats
* Inspiration
* Light
* Time to reflect

This weeks Challenge: Seeking Balance - trying to balance everything and include doing art in there.

Join in doing 52 Lists hosted by Moorea Seal.  I love them and it has been not only fun, but really interesting exploring some areas I buried or never really noticed about myself.  #52lists2013

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful for...
1. getting to met a long time friend from online - in person. She is just as beautiful in person as I have gotten from her all these years online.
2. having an amazing meal out with her last night at Gino's
3. Godfather's pizza - it something Michael and I miss and Salt Lake City has one so we stopped there for pizza
4. Michael stopping and getting me some supplies to add to my art pack
5. getting some time for art while away from home

On the Road

Photo from our early morning departure. We arrived safely in Idaho.

100 Things | Owls

31. I like Owls. 

I have always liked owls, but the last several years I have fallen love with them more.  I have a small collection of them.  Some favorites are a little stone owl my sisters gave me, 3 hanging owls I received for Christmas one year from a good friend, a handmade bag with little owls all over it given to for my birthday by my good friend Kathie  and now the owls in the photo. These adorable owls were handmade by my good friend Tammy. She made each of them different and they are so cute and unique! I love them and enjoy seeing them hang around the house.

Soon to Meet a Friend

Sour Cream Cookies
made for my friend and her family

Today I am cleaning like a mad woman. We are going out of town and I hate coming home to a dirty house and often when we are leaving for a trip things end up looking like a tornado hit the house because I am packing and throwing things all over to find things for our trip.

Most of the time though I am lucky and do get a chance to clean things up so we aren't coming home to a dirty house. I change sheets and towels and sprinkle essential oils throughout the house so that when we come home and open the door it smells good too.

I also baked some cookies because I get to met a friend while in Idaho.

When Michael first found out he was going to Idaho, he asked me if I wanted to go because he remembered I have a friend I have known online for almost 10 years that I haven't met face to face who lives in the area. Of course I jumped on that chance and in a few days I will meet her and I am so excited!

Her and I bonded on a menu planning group years ago. Soon after we became fast friends enjoying Firefly, cooking, tea, books, the color purple and so many other things. In a few days we will be able to talk about all those wonderful things face to face - laugh and hug and just enjoy each other's company. Really EXCITED!

Women are Heros too

Quote from a piece by Henry Rollins in regards to the Steubenville rapes: "So, how do you fix that? I’m just shooting rubber bands at the night sky but here are a few ideas: Put women’s studies in high school the curriculum from war heroes to politicians, writers, speakers, activists, revolutionaries and let young people understand that women have been kicking ass in high threat conditions for ages and they are worthy of respect.

Total sex ed in school. Learn how it all works. Learn what the definition of statutory rape is and that it is rape, that date rape is rape, that rape is rape."

Love Will Take You

52 Week Photo Project: Week 11

We took a road trip on Thursday and Friday. This is a photo of a spot on our way home on Friday. The area is one of my favorites between Hanging Flume and Gateway, Colorado.  It is so beautiful and the light was just perfect.

52 Lists: Week 10

Week 10: List Ways You can Cleanse for Spring
* Spring Cleaning the house in general - but areas I really want to tackle:
My clothes (donate what I don’t wear/need)
The Laundry room shelves/cupboards
My studio
My studio closet!!
Michael’s Office
*Shredding paper - something I always get behind in
* My Studio - Listed above for spring cleaning, but really want it to flow  better so reorganize & possibly rearrange set up
* My files on my computer - need to backup as well as purge things
* meditation and therapy - always help me  keep my body and mind
more centered
* Continue Eat well - but review areas that I can make some
more changes to help
* Keep my balance by being creative - not only  poetry and photography,  but creating art - sitting  at my art table and painting, gluing, and scribbling.
* Dye my hair and get a haircut
* Make a homemade body scrub and do a pamper day for Michael & myself

The Weekly Challenge: Clean out Fridge and Freezer and I did it right after making this list

Join in doing 52 Lists hosted by Moorea Seal.  I love them and it has been not only fun, but really interesting exploring some areas I buried or never really noticed about myself.  #52lists2013

Gratitude Friday

Hanging Flume 

I am thankful for...
1. getting to spend so much time with my love
2. beautiful drive to Durango
3. beautiful drive back home
4. seeing new scenery
5. having fun with my love on a road trip

My Map

Pinterest is one big mood board, but I created one board on it for my vision of myself - basically creating a vision board for what I seek for myself.

Here are a few things on it....

Source: beautifulwordsofwisdom.tumblr.com via Darby on Pinterest

Source: piccsy.com via Darby on Pinterest

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Darby on Pinterest

Turning Page

52 Week Photo Project: Week 10

Just playing with the red peppers we got before I chopped them up.

52 Lists: Week 9

Week 9: List the Places You want to Go
* an art retreat
* on more Poetry Dates with Michael
* to my art table weekly
* Santa Fe, NM again
* NYC, Chicago, Seattle
* Estes Park, CO
* to see my family
* to see Kaylee & Travis
* to see Kathie & Jeff
* to get a tattoo
* a Buddhist group chant/meditation
* to Crested Butte - the waterfall I saw on Pintrest
* Overseas: Ireland, Scotland & England
* visit more art museums
* this one especially someday: The Louvre
* concert - U2 or Coldplay on top of that list
* to see Cirque du Soleil
* back to Ohio to see my old friends there
* on more walks
* local day trips
* Denver Zoo & Botanical Gardens
* Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
* more local art events
* to the library

Join in doing 52 Lists hosted by Moorea Seal.  I love them and it has been not only fun, but really interesting exploring some areas I buried or never really noticed about myself.  #52lists2013

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful for...
1.  being able to help a friend celebrate an anniversary
2. being able to spend some time with friends
3. being able to share some of my excitement about poetry and joy with others
4. a stack of inspiring books
5. burts bees lip balm
6. our kitty cats

Words

I love words so the quotes board on my pinterest is fairly large.  Just posting a few that caught my attention recently....

Source: piccsy.com via Darby on Pinterest

Source: blacklullaby.tumblr.com via Darby on Pinterest

Source: amarodriguezs.blogspot.it via Darby on Pinterest

52 Lists: Week 8

I love music, but I am horrible at naming songs and groups. So although I love music, I had to actually go into my music, look and listen to find music I knew were favorites. Because I couldn't remember albums for sure, but sometimes artists and names of songs were hard to figure out for me too.  I dug out some record albums to do for this photo.  The list is sitting on top of The Beatles - Let It Be album on the Apple label. Off to the side is Prince - Purple Rain. Not seen in this photo, but out also - U2 - Boy and the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink.

After taking this photo with instagram, I knew I should tag it, but I couldn't remember the tag so I walked back to my computer. I was gone for just a moment and when I came back, one of our cats was sitting on that record.  I was too panicked she was going to scratch or I would have taken a photo. I gently coaxed her off of it and then put it away quickly before something happened to my precious Let It Be record.

Week 8:  List your Favorite Albums
* All Albums by U2
* All Albums by Coldplay
* Adele - 21
* Sting - Nothing Like the Sun
* The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
* Abba - Greatest Hits
* Keane - Under the Iron Sea
* Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
* Beatles -  Let It Be
* Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
* Bob Marley - Legend
* Patsy Cline - 12 Greatest Hits
* John Cash - Folsom Prison
* Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
* Dido - No Angel
* Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now
* Eurythmics - Touch
* Queen - A Night at the Opera
* Leonard Cohen - Various Positions
* Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
* Michael Jackson - Thriller
* The Carpenters - Close to You
* The Fixx - Greatest Hits - One Thing Leads To Another
* John Lennon - Imagine
* The Smiths - The Smiths
* REM - Document
* Melissa Etheridge - Skin
* KD Lang - Ingenue
* Duran Duran - Rio
* Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
* Depeche Mode - Violator
* Sade - The Best of Sade
* Live - Secret Samadhi

* Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

* OkGo - Oh No

* Carole King - Tapestry

* Elvis Presley - Elvis' 40 Greatest

* Madonna - Like a Virgin

* Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

* Fleetwood Mac - Rumors

* Prince - Purple Rain

* The Clash - London Calling

* Soundtracks: Across the Universe, Dances with Wolves, Phantom of the Opera, Boys on the Side, Dan in Real Life, The Sound of Music, The Graduate, Pretty in Pink, Beauty and the Beast, Out of Africa, The Piano, Almost Famous,  The Bodyguard, Dirty Dancing, Grease, Saturday Night Fever

Join in doing 52 Lists hosted by Moorea Seal.  I love them and it has been not only fun, but really interesting exploring some areas I buried or never really noticed about myself.  #52lists2013

Requiem on Water

From Breaking Dawn 1 Soundtrack. This past weekend Michael watched the Twilight saga with me. Everyone on Facebook was giving him/us a hard time. Asking why and telling him he was a better man than they were for sitting through them all.  He is a great man! He obviously loves me for sitting through them all.

52 Week Photo Project: Week 9

Last week I was really disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures so this past week I was more aware and conscious of the fact I wanted too take out that camera more.  Michael also upgraded my cell to an iPhone so I  now have the camera there and instagram so I should be taking more photos because of having my phone with me almost always.

That was the case on Friday, Michael had to work downtown Denver so I snapped a few pictures.  This top one was the photo I used in the 52 Photo group on FB.

We were right across the street from the Denver Art Museum  They had a Georgia O'Keefe exhibit going on....wished we could have went to see it, but we were really busy on Friday.

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful for...
1. Safe travels back and forth to Denver - we have had a lot of trips there in the last 3 weeks
2. living in the most beautiful state that continues to leave me in awe
3. seeing so much amazing wildlife on our way to and from Craig this past week
4.  Michael upgrading my phone and now having the ability to communicate and take photos - gives me just an added way of connection to friends and family
5. taking photos this week...as I didn't last week and it made me feel so off about my week.  Like a week was missing so glad I took photos this week and was able to capture moments.