52 Lists - Week 19

Week 19 - List The Things You Want to be Known For
* being a devoted & loving partner
* being kind & compassionate
* being an artist
* being authentic
* being creative
* being inspiring & encouraging
* being loyal, honest & trustworthy
* being passionate
* being a good listener
* being a good friend
* being a good daughter, sister and Aunt
* seeing joy and beauty in ordinary everyday moments
* being open
* being a good cook like my Mom
* being a shoulder to cry on or just being there to listen
* being helpful
* being a nice person
* being a free spirit

Challenge - This week I will feel solid in my identity by....
creating and sharing

I did that as my challenge as one thing I have been doing is posting art, poetry, photography on various places online and then stepping away and not worrying what others are saying.  Letting go if people like it or not and just enjoying the process of doing, creating and sharing. It helps me feel more solid in myself as an artist and my confident in finding my artistic voice.

52 Lists - Week 18

Week 18 - List The Ways You are Energized
spending quality time with Michael - creating art - sitting at my work table late at night - doing something creative - editing photos, writing poetry - going on photo adventures & poetry dates with Michael - looking art - reading inspiring books that touch me - cleaning house and having a clean house - journaling - finishing a project - spending time with friends - talking on the phone or chatting online with friends - drinking a glass of ice water - taking a hot shower - listening to music - Sunshine & spring - checking things off my to-do list

Challenge - I will spend time re-energized by....

spending time at my work table creating 

52 Lists - Week 17

I did this list and well I would really like to publicly share the people on the list, but I realized it was a little too personal and I didn't feel the need to share it with the world.  Instead I have been crafting some emails, cards, notes and packages for people I admire as I feel it is a better way to do this weeks list.

I will say I am constantly in a state of admiration by the depth of feeling, inspiration and just kindness of people in sharing of themselves.  I see it daily offline in people as well as through updates of friends and family on Facebook, people I follow on Instagram and Pinterest. So many people inspire me and make me think and I admire each.

52 Lists - Week 16

I love to read. I often have several books on my nightstand.  I keep track of the books I read on Goodreads.com and love that I can have it on my phone and scan barcodes in. This was a hard list to not keeping adding more and more to. You can see the books I have read this year so far I have read 54.

Week 16 - Favorite Books
The Valkyries - Paulo Coehlo
The Pilgrimage - Paulo Coehlo
The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo
Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
Outlander series - Diana Gabaldon
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
The Gifts of Imperfection - Dr. Brene Brown
Life is a Verb - Patti Digh
Inner Excavation - Liz Lamoruex
Brave on the Rocks - Sabrina Ward Harrison
Return to Love - Marianne Williamson
The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams
New and Selected Poems, Vol. 1  - Mary Oliver
Home Comforts - Cheryl Mendelson
The Mermaid Chair - Susan Monk Kidd
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
The Four Agreements - Miguel Ruiz
PoemCrazy - Susan Wooldridge
Living the Creative Life - Rice Freeman-Zachery
Green Guide for Artists - Karen Michel
The Artists Way - Julia Cameron
Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg

Challenge: I will read...
A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg - which I did start to read and decided I wasn't ready to read it although it looks like a good book just not a theme I want to read about right now.

52 Lists - Week 15

I have collected quotes for as long as I can remember. Just picking a handful for this list was really hard on me.  In this photo there are 3 journals from high school to college that are full of quotes I collected. Some I read now and shake my head why I put that in there and others I forgot about and thankful to find again.  I have a lot of quotes on my On the Inside board on Pinterest and also My Map board. I also have a tag on here for quotes I post to the blog.

Week 15 - Favorite Quotes

"He knew one of the women well, and had shared his universe with her. They had seen the same mountains, and the same trees, although each of them had seem them differently. She knew his weaknesses, his moments of hatred, of despair. Yet she was there at his side. They shared the same universe."   - Paulo Coelho, The Valkyries

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” - - Rumi

“Try to find pleasure in the speed that you're not used to. Changing the way you do routine things allows a new person to grow inside of you. But when all is said and done, you're the one who must decide how you handle it." - From Paulo Coelho's book The Pilgrimage

“When you open your heart and mind to new perceptions you are shown a whole new way to view your life. - Gabrielle Bernstein - Spirit Junkie

"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

"You're imperfect, and you're wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging." ~Brené Brown

“A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you . . .Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question - Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't it is of no  use."  -- Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings
of Don Juan

“We have to choose joy and keep choosing it.” - Henri JM Nouwen

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy-the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” - Brene Brown


Challenge: I will live out one of my quotes by....
“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” - Brene Brown

One thing I am trying to focus on is accepting myself as I am.  Often I think I do give others more kindness than I give myself.  So this year I am trying to be gentle, kind and encouraging to myself as well as others.

52 Lists: Week 14

As you will see from these lists I put artist in capital letters on both lists. The reason is that for always I have wanted to be an artist. Of course there were other flitting moments that  I thought about other jobs, but really always always I have wanted to be an artist and only an artist, but pushed it away for a multitude of reasons. Yes it is fun to dream of other things, but I am an artist and it took so long to speak those words out loud and mean them that I don't ever want to turn my back on it again. I am an artist.

Week 14 - List your Childhood & Current Dream Jobs
Childhood Dream Job:
ARTIST
Princess
Architect
Archaeologist
Interior Designer
Fashion Designer
Museum Curator
Graphic artist
Singer
Art Teacher
Social Worker

Current Dream Job:
ARTIST

Challenge: How can you integrate one of your dream jobs into your life right now? Keep working on art and finish art website.

52 Lists - Week 13

Week 13 - List Things that You Want to Make
art - gifts - a happy life - connections - love, joy & compassion - wall art - prints and mixed media - home changes - painting walls, changing out hardware on cabinets - yard changes - container gardens - curtains for kitchen & dining room -  continue to make homemade cleaners - cookies to mail to friends - care packages for friends and family - a studio that inspires easily - a new recipe monthly - Big Initials for living room wall - take ordinary spoons and create art on them to hang in the kitchen - lotion - lists - doodles & hand lettering - doodle/draw on rocks

Challenge - This week I will make....Freezer smoothie packs

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.

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

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

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

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

52 Lists: Week 7

Week 7: List Things that Make You Feel Healthy
* create art
* journal
* make healthy meal and snack choices
* remember what has been working in losing weight and keep up with those things
* find ways that work with my pain to exercise
* keep the house tidy & organized
* share and connect with friends & family
* explore creative outlets - such as poetry & photography
* unplug & spend quality time with Michael
* be kind and loving towards myself as well as others
* believe in myself, trusting myself - my feelings
* wash my face every evening before bed, lotion my dry skin more often
* drink less soda
* send friends &  family snail mail
* express gratitude
* be present in the moment - find joy in ordinary moments
* read, sing, dance, laugh
* therapy
* ask for help when needed
* accept that I live in pain and keep living life the best I can - each moment
* keep learning & growing into who I am
* get enough sleep


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

52 Lists: Week 6

Week 6: List Ways in Which You Can Love Others
* send out more snail mail to family &  friends
* Make art and little handmade gifts to send to family & friends
* Leave comments on FB, text or email to those I am thinking about
* give hugs to family & friends more often
* smile at strangers
* hold open doors
* do random acts of kindness
* send prayers, positive thoughts & energy
* bake & cook for friends just because & for those in need of help
* listen
* apologize
* forgive
* saying thank you - expressing appreciation and gratitude
* be thoughtful of my words
* be of comfort - by being a shoulder to cry on. giving advice or just listening
* being kind to those who are being mean or rude as they are fighting a battle & need kindness
* accept others decisions even if I don’t understand or agree with them
* be present in the moment
* things that for myself - that will in the long run help me with in loving  others - such as giving me - me time, expressing feelings, being vulnerable and open with my thoughts and feelings
* saying no when I need too - because it will only make me resent the person instead of giving them kindness and love
* helping Michael be less stressed through helping him relax, helping in his work, keeping things organized around the house
* leaving Michael love notes, cards, texts
* thanking Michael
* hugs, kisses & cuddles for Michael

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

52 Lists: Week 5

Week 5: List Things You are Grateful for
* Michael
* my parents
* my sisters
* family & friends
* life
* living in beautiful Colorado
* Michael working from home
* having time & ability to do my art
* having a therapist who is supportive & understanding
* having medical help even without insurance
* having gone through some hard things in my life & getting through each situation - learning & growing
* having a roof over our heads and food on the table
* technology - allows me creativity outlets as well as keeping touch with family and friends who live so far away
* colors - being able to see them
* holding hands with the man I love - being able to touch/feel his warm hand in mine
* hearing Michael singing - hearing all the sounds that happen daily
* being able to express myself through words, writing, feelings, laughing, crying,  creating, making a happy home, whispering to Michael, dancing, singing, smiling
* friends who inspire me and support my dreams
* joy in the everyday ordinary moments
* the library - always having a stack of books to read
* the chance to learn and grow daily
* day trips and traveling
* having many things in my life that comfort me - such as tea, baking, creating art, hugs from Michael, kitty cats purring


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

52 Lists: Week 4

This is week's 4 list - List Your Current & Future Goals & Dreams....This one was almost as hard as last weeks. And then when things started flowing...I realized I have a lot of dreams. Although that makes me happy, because I do feel like for a while I didn't dream anymore, I do realize I don't want to overwhelm myself with too many things on my list.

Get my art website up and going again - Get Etsy shop going - Continue on with poetry & photography - Continue with Inner Excavation - Work on Art weekly - Do Project Life - Take a couple of e-courses such as Ali Edward’s One Word -  Continue losing weight - To continue with therapy learning & growing into myself - To continue learning to love myself and know I am enough and worthy - Go back to Santa Fe - Travel - Accept compliments more easily &  help re-write the negative talk that goes on inside my head - Find a way to live with my pain that doesn't shut life down. Instead offers a a way to live my life with pain more fully. - Keep working towards a more green lifestyle - get one or more tattoos - contribute to the household financially - learn & practice yoga - work on meditation more - always be kind, compassionate, generous and grateful  - To continue to live in the present moment and live with intention - To continue on building my relationship with Michael as relationships require work and care to grow. - Go on an art retreat

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

52 Lists: Week 3

Moorea Seal hit the nail on the head with this one....it came at a really good time for me and she worded it perfectly. I am working on several things out of my comfort zone and it is easy for me to get my brain spinning about things and not see that I have much to be proud of in myself.  Moorea Seal said on her blog: "I absolutely believe that everyone has reasons to be proud of who they are, what they have made it through and what they have created in their lives.  But many of us doubt that we even have anything to be proud of.  If you are having a hard time feeling proud of anything about yourself or in your life, you can at least try to acknowledge those things which you should seek to find pride in." 

I am doing the 52 Lists as a way to explore myself. I have many things I am proud of in friends and family, but trying to keep this list to exploring myself and it is very hard for me to even think about what I should be proud of - so a really good task for me to do as I have had people in my life say - I often discount the things I do. 


This weeks list is - List the things you should be proud of.....

My relationship with Michael - My Art Exploring new outlets and forms of my creativity  - I love unconditionally - I am passionate about so many things causes – such as human rights, domestic violence, child abuse, fighting cancer and other diseases, poverty and many other things. I have a generous spirit and and am kind-hearted to want to fight for those that need help - Traveling and living in so many areas around the US - I give good advice and am a good friend - I am a good mediator for others when they are upset - Being able to see both side of ideas - The journey I am on and that I continue to grow and learn - Friends and family – so many wonderful people in my life doing amazing things daily - My relationships with family and friends  - Being compassionate and open-minded - Self taught myself many things including website design and photoshop - Working with Michael in his business – learning it and taking on things that scare me and push my comfort bounds - Surviving trauma and troubles in my life including dark thoughts of trying to kill myself  - Surviving each cycle of depression – coming out each time stronger - Reading  - as it allows me to explore areas and times I can never go and expands my imagination – words creating vivid pictures in my head - I am very domestic and enjoy making a happy home for Michael and I -  I am self-aware


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

52 Lists: Week 2

This week....List Your Greatest Comforts

holding hands with Michael - watching movies with Michael - creating art - going to museums -purring kitty cats - soft sweaters - snuggling under a blanket - pillow talk - the smell of soup simmering - hot soup on a cold winter night - tea with cream & sugar - cool drink on a hot summer day - reading books- Brene Brown books - Paulo Coehlo books - Eat Pray Love - chatting with friends - hugs from friends & family - sending & receiving snail mail - listening to music - office supplies - art supplies - cardamom cookies - smelling & eating freshly baked bread - warm fuzzy socks // hot cocoa - Christmas - chocolate -baking - singing - touch - dreams - sunsets -mountains - photographs - candles - notepads - journals - chapstick - memories - snow - rain - coloring - crying - laughter - road trips  - Asian food - Thanksgiving dinner - making lists - Sunday mornings

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

52 Lists: Week 1

I found this via Pinterest as I follow Moorea Seal there and enjoy her blog also. She is doing a list a week for the year - 52 Lists.  I love lists so I am going to jump into this project.

Right now I am reading the book Inner Excavation by Liz Lamoreux and she suggest collecting a word toolbox. Gathering words to create poetry. So this first list is perfect for that too...the first weeks list is Words that Touch Your Soul.

The words I have on my list:  love - Michael - grace -living - stillness - joy - devotion - vibrant - laughter - star - dream - believe - feeling - spirit - celebrate - rainbow - simplicity - play - passion - kindness // journey - open - peace - friendship - family - gratitude - wholehearted - hope - mountains - acceptance - being - beauty - expressive - hearth - home - energy - sisters - understanding - giving - knowledge // vulnerable - courage - doing - truth - reality universe - touch - tea - silliness - artistry - purple - mermaid - darkness - light - enough - enchanted - faith - music - growth - possible

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