I am SOOOOOO Ready!!

Trees silhouettes against gradient colored sky

Okay, so I see it has been since 9/15 that I have last posted, which is an insane amount of time, but I have to stop and just let you know a little bit about what has been going on in our lives.

Oh man, there is just so much…I am not even sure I know where to start.

For those of you who have been following my life, you would know that my hubby and I moved to Portland, Oregon last December (exactly 1 year 18 days ago!) Anyway, I had this crazily insane idea that if I moved to Portland, that somehow the city would rub off on me and I would then be a bonafied artist.

I see that in writing and I think, I must’ve been insane to have thought that a city could make me be something that I already am!

Anyway, let’s just say that THAT is not what happened. You see, Portland is very expensive to live in, so my hubby and started working overtime to pay for all of these AMAZING things that we would do, now that we were officially Portlanders!

My job got really stressful and pressure-filled, plus I’ve been working on east coast time, which meant that I was missing all of this amazing Portland nightlife that I kept hearing about, because mama needed to make sure sleep was a priority, or she was going to crash and burn.

On top of all of that, we had a few major medical emergencies happen this year, the biggest of which is that we almost lost our sweet Liam boy not once, but twice…and…let’s just say that even though he is doing better, thank God…it has been a very difficult and trying year.

Back in September, when I wrote Spiraling, Spiraling, I was at what I thought was my rock bottom.

Well, the universe had other things in mind (AKA mama had some more lessons that I needed to learn).

In October, my husband fell through some scaffolding, which resulted in him tearing all of the muscles from his right shoulder, requiring surgery to fix. According to his surgeon, his surgery was one of the worst tears he had seen, actually needing to full surgeries in one sitting to fix, but everything went, as the surgeon described it, “best case scenario”. Even though the surgery went better than hoped, it wiped us out financially, at least for a few months.

If I thought the year was hard before, this accident really knocked us for a loop, because now I was literally alone in all household chores, cooking, taking care of our puppies, packing for our move (more on that later), caring for my sweetie through a really painful healing process, and my work life was just getting harder and harder, being micromanaged to the nth degree by someone who honestly just didn’t know me enough to trust me or my work.

I felt like I was being attacked on all fronts.

Well, if you know me, you know that I do not like to be stuck for long, so some BIG decisions were made!

This is what I MOST EXCITED to share with you..

Oh man… okay, so I am just going to tell you, because in all honestly I am a little afraid of sounding like a crazy person, but since my hubby is supporting me in my brand of crazy then, that’s enough, right???

Changes:

I am leaving my job, at the end of this month
My hubby and I are going through the process of going through all of our belongings, packing up only what we must, and putting all of that into a small storage unit
We have purchased a brand new travel trailer (AKA an apartment on wheels)
We are moving out of Portland, and moving out on to my sis-in-law’s property, while my hubby takes the next 6 months to heal and go through some serious physical therapy
Sometime during all of that, we are going to refinish the remodel of our condo, and sell it, so that we can pay off as much of the rest of our debt as possible (that surgery was REALLY expensive), but it is so close to complete, that I am really excited about it!
When all is said and done, my sweetie and I are going to use the next year, living in our cute little trailer, simplifying every single aspect of our lives, and we are going to travel the Oregon coast, living any where we choose.

The main goal for this next year, is to simplify and figure out what it is really want for the next 10, 20, 30 years of our life. It is all going by so fast, that if we don’t start living it on purpose, and not on autopilot, we are going to seriously be sorry when our time runs out.

Regret is NOT an option!

So there you have it!

I know that I have been MIA for a while, and I do apologize for that. I do have a new plan, with the new year, so please be patient as we finish this crazy busy transition (oh, and did I mention that Christmas is happening in the middle of all of this????). Anyway, I know the best, THE VERY BEST is yet to come!!

Great big hugs to all of you who took the time to stop by to read my little blog!

with the utmost of sincerity, and light, and goodness,

Spiraling! Spiraling!

A chain on a black background breaks

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

Okay, so here goes. Forewarning, I am keeping it real!

I am not doing so hot.

I am not sure if it is just that I am highly sensitive and there is not enough alone time, out in naturetime, quality time with the hubby, if living on east coast time while living on the west coast is becoming too much, or if there really is just too much going on in this girls life for her to handle.

I feel like I am spiraling the drain.

I am tired.

I am burnt out.

I feel completely and totally disconnected.

These are all things that my inner Chrissie is non too happy about!

I have learned long ago that there will be no one to come and rescue me, or save me, that if I want to fix what is going on, I have to take action and make the necessary changes happen. As much as I think I love change, the freshness, the newness, and the excitement that change can bring,

I am also quite scared of it.

I never want to hurt or disappoint anyone, but what I am learning is that you can’t live your authentic life without disappointing someone.

I know the change I need to make, a couple of them actually. I am not going to speak them aloud out here, I want the people affected to know first hand. These changes are big, life-upheaveal kind of changes, and if I am honest, VERY SCARY changes. and if you were looking in on my life, through a window, they might seem like, “WTF” kind of changes, but I have learned something else throughout this past year…

To live authentically, you have to live radically, and unapologetically.

You don’t ask for permission, you give notice.

(Thank you, Miss Lisa Nichols, for those lessons!)

For my sanity’s sake, and for my mental health’s sake, it is time to stop apologizing, give notice, and make the damn change already.

Yeah, that feels like it is Brave Girl Panty worthy!! 🙂

Here is to a Brave Girl Panty kind of day!

Monday, 2017-09-11

Good morning, beautiful creatives!

This is week #2 for me, of waking up at 4:30 AM. It is getting easier! I really am enjoying my time up, in the early morning, before anyone else is up and at em!

My mind is already racing though, thank you very much chronic anxiety – I will beat you one day!! But, today, I am just breathing in to it!

I always want to try and talk about something soft and fluffy, because that is usually the kinds of things that I am needing to hear, but today, the thing that keeps running through my mind is today’s data.

9/11

Now, for most Americans this is a date that will continue to haunt, well, at least it does me anyway!

Back on THE 9/11, my hubby and I were living in a different place, and I was just waking to get ready for work. We always awoke with the radio and for some reason, today’s show was different.

I wasn’t really getting out of bed yet, just laying there in that place that is halfway between awake and asleep. They were saying that a plane had gone into one of the Twin Towers in Manhattan, New York. They were talking like it was some kind of a horrific accident, the pilot must have been drunk or something.

Pretty quickly, the radio hosts got word that it was a terrorist attack in progress.

That got both of us out of bed pretty quickly.

I remember getting dressed, and calling my dad to tell him to turn on the news. I then proceeded to make a round of calls just making sure that all of my sisters were safe and aware, as we were on our way over to my sister-in-laws place to watch the news unfold together with family.

We arrived just in time to see plane #2 go into the Towers. It was terrifying, and surreal, and something that looked like it just came out of a Hollywood movie, but not a movie that I would ever want to see.

I remember that my family was the most important thing to me that day, but I also remember that as the day that my naive sense of safety went away, that somehow the bad things that I saw on the news really didn’t just happen to other people. That somehow I was immune to this badness.

I remember that leaving a really bad scar.

One that I still struggle with to this day.

Here we are, 16 years later, and although I no longer think about those horrible events, every-single-day, I do start feeling a bit “off” when this date comes around, and then when I actually do see the date of this day, I am reminded. And then I say a little prayer for all of those affected. The survivors, those that didn’t survive, the family members of all that were involved, and for all of those throughout our country, those who might feel like me, still-a-bit shell shocked by it all, and I hope that in some small way, I can somehow still help make the world a better place.

That is doable, right? I am not sure. I ask myself this all of the time, and I give myself no other choice, but to continue to have hope that it is doable!

Here is to remembering what is most important!

A Peaceful Sunday Morning!

beautiful landscape of meadow sunrise

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

This morning, at my house, is a very peaceful place to be!

Almost all of the chores are already done, papa is in the kitchen making breakfast, and Gracie and Bitsy are in their bed in the living room playing with one of their favorite stuffed squeaky toys!

Breakfast, in case you are curious, is 1/2 a bagel with cream cheese, 2 scrambled eggs with one slice of bacon in it! That will be followed by some fresh berries!! YUM!

After breakfast, we will all pile into the car and head over to Dutch Brothers to pick up our weekend splurge, which is one of their freezes! But then, we are back to the house, and spending a quality lazy day together!

So far, besides hanging with my little fam at the manse, I know I am going to put a big pot of chili on later this afternoon, which is one of our favorites! That is in honor of the fact that the weather is finally starting to cool down around here, and we can feel our favorite season rolling in…FALL!! I can not wait until the leave starts changing colors – they may have already, I just don’t seem to get out of the house every day to check on their progress! So, for my hubby and I, we are officially back into the season of Hygge!! MY FAVE!!!

For us this means, candles, homey meals, fires in the fireplace, snuggling while watching movies, or reading, under big fuzzy blankets on the sofa, bundled up walks around our neighborhood while holding hands, and pretty much living a quality, but simple life just enjoying each other in the moment! Doesn’t that sound dreamy??? Now you can see why Fall is our favorite time of year!

As I write this, I also stop and think about all of the people in the Southeastern part of this country, and all of the tragedy they are going through, as the States experience one of the worst hurricane seasons in our history. It really breaks my heart! I feel so helpless, and don’t really know what to do to help! So, for now, I pray!

Okay, so I realize that might have come a little bit out of left field, but this is how my brain works…random thoughts pop in and out whenever and wherever they want to. I have made the conscious decision that if this morning journaling session is going to happen, then it has to be real. So there you go…you are welcome! 😉

Anyway, I am hoping that this feeling of peace can last throughout the entirety of my day, I realize that not everyone is so lucky. My heart goes out to you!

Here is to finding a little bit of peace, wherever you may be!

What Matters Most Right Now?

In nature after fog

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

What matters most right now?

This is a question that has been a constant friend over the past few days! When I hear it, in my head, I try to not only answer it, but I am trying to make it my practice to actually take action on it!

What matters most right now?

The answer to that question has varied quite a bit, but it has been everything from:

Go brush your teeth!
Schedule your bills!
Clean the kitchen!
Go journal!
It is time for a meditation!
Early to bed, please!
Go hug your sweetie!
Turn off the telly, it is time to get to work!
etc!

I think the Universe is trying to get me to really stay focused on what really needs my attention right now, and you know what? It is really making me feel more accomplished! Little baby-step kind of things that really matter to me. Doing this consistently over the past few days have left me feeling mentally, much better than I have in quite a while!

YAY!!

So…

What matters most right now?

Is there something that you can stop and take immediate action on?

If there is anything I can encourage you to do today, it is that!

GO DO THAT!!!

Here is to a Beautiful Creative day!

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Just Another Manic Tuesday!

Bitsy & Gracie sleeping!! Sisters and Besties Forever!! 🙂

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

Okay, so maybe it is not quite a manic Tuesday, but the Manic Monday song ran through my head as I was trying to figure out what to title this post…so there ya go! 🙂

My day of taking micro baby steps to be a better me than I was the day before was a success! If I may say so myself!

I’ve decided to keep track of my baby steps in a small, pocket-sized, notebook. That way I have no excuse not to write it down. I thought that this way would also give me an easy, electronic-free way to look back and see how far I have come in my progress!

I just counted and I ended up with 39 things on my list, and a few of those things were:

Lunch with Papa Jay and Crystal
An afternoon walk
Play with the puppies
When they did something they are not supposed to, I stopped to remember that they are still puppies!
I had a healthy breakfast
Purchased enough slim hangers to replace every regular one we have in the house – project closet purge is well on it’s way
and climbed in bed early to read…a quick note on this one, I was soon interrupted by pre-bedtime-spazzy-puppies, and reading did not commence. It is dang near impossible to ready with these 2 little hooligans around!! 😉

So, that is just a sampling of how I did yesterday. I think I did a lot of things really, really right, and I still did a lot of things that I can still improve on. As for today, I am going to keep tracking my micro successes, one thing at a time!

HOWEVER, the thing I am most excited about today is that today is the first day of our girls’ puppy training classes!!

YAAAAAAY!!!

and whew, I thought this day would never come!

For the most part Gracie and Bitsy are well behaved girls! Okay, that might be a lie, but I think they try!

Gracie is super friendly, social, and just loves E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y!!!!

Bitsy, well, let’s just say she has other attributes!! 😉

She is a spazz, is terrified of anyone and everyone, gets really vicious when she plays, and once out of the house she is loooooooooong gone!! She is a wild child that just can not be tamed!! Which is really cool, but also has caused a lot of extra WTF??? commentary in our little household!

I am really hoping that puppy training will help, because we cannot afford to have Cesar Milan come to our home and show us how to let Bitsy know that we are the pack leaders, not her!

She does have her awwwwww moments too, mind you – she is the best car passenger! She loves watching everything happening outside, which is awesome!!

Ooh! My alarm to head out to work just went off, so I have got to zippity-do!! I will let you know how puppy school goes!! Until then…

Here is to a Beautiful Creative Day!

If you want to have a Beautiful Creative life, you have to take beautiful and creative actions!

Starting Anew!

Good morning, Beautiful Creatives!

I have decided that I may be the world’s worst blogger. I never seem to get around to updating my blog, so, instead of dwelling on that, I’ve decided that this morning I will start anew!

I have been asking myself, “how can I improve myself?” This question is something that seems to be following me everywhere I go. I am not sure why, but last night I had a bit of an ah-ha moment when, out of the blue, I reheard something that I have known for a long looooong time! You can improve yourself by taking baby steps every single day to do something – anything – better than you did the day before!

So, that is what I am doing, starting this morning!!

I woke to go pee – now come on, I am pretty dang sure that is the first thing you do every day too!! 😉

The difference for me this morning, is that I told myself I could not play on my phone until I had done two things, brushed my teeth, and did my face skincare routine (which is I guess technically has to be done on a regular basis to be considered a routine!)

I am not sure if this is true for you, but my phone can seriously be a major time-suck in my life!! I great avoidance measure for getting anything of actual great importance done in my day!!

Anyway, I have decided today is the day to change all of that!

So, this morning, so far,

I have…

brushed my hair (working from home, this is not always a requirement, since no-one by my sweetie usually ever sees me)
Brushed my teeth
Flossed
Tongue scraped
Mouthwashed
Washed my face (with more than just water)
Used facial toner (I am not sure I have done that in years!!!) Oh, and this is where I should probably tell you that I have recently gotten new skin care products, because EWWWWWW-GROSS to something I might have used years ago!!!)
Moisturized, down to my neck – yes, something that doesn’t happen too often either, so I am feel rather proud of myself!
Let my sweetie and the girls sleep in a little bit, we all are a little sleep deprived, and anything I can do to help us all stay grump-mode-free is always a good thing!
and now I am blogging!

Did I mention that I have done all of this before 5:30 AM this morning?

Well, yeah, I did! 😉

I am trying to figure out how I want to track my progress, do I want to carry a mini notebook, something that could fit in my pocket, or do I want to track my baby steps electronically? I do not yet know, but I will keep you posted!

I am hoping that I can take just a few moments every morning to journal/blog! I figure I can kill two birds with one stone (man, I really hate that phrase!) and maybe I might be able to share some helpful ideas, insights, or maybe even just give people a reason to smile every morning!

Alright, so there you have it, short and sweet!!

Here is to a BEAUTIFULLY CREATIVE day!

If you want a beautiful creative life, you have to take beautiful creative actions!

Soul Book Club #6!

Hello my Beautiful Creatives!

Where the heck does the time go???

I realize I have not posted here in quite a while, and I really don’t want to skip over anything, so I am recommitting to getting caught up. Slowly but surely!

Soul Book Club # 6 was posted, well, let’s just say a while ago! 🙂

When I was doing this week’s Soul Book Club video, I pretty much just gave myself permission to just play without much thought…you know, the same kind of free play that you might have done when you were an innocent kindergartner. This is my absolute favorite way to spend time in my Soul Book.

Free, uninhibited, playtime!!

My first spread I did today, was inspired by a picture that I had found on Pinterest. This image was a red splotchy background with the words Must Make Art. Not only is red my favorite color, this sentiment is my truth! I can’t seem to go a day without wanting to make art of any kind! and I mean EVERY-SINGLE-DAY!! 🙂

For this spread I thought I would use my 3×5 Gelly Plate, and basically use my Gelly Plate as kind of a stamp. I was also really excited about doing this spread because of the time card that I had tipped in to the middle of this spread. I knew it would 1. give me a bit of a challenge figuring out how to decorate it because it is a different kind of paper than the actual sketch book itself. and 2. I love the idea of having like a mini page in the middle of this spread.

I felt that I was having some trouble getting my groove on, I was having a lot of troubles dropping things – I do that when I let myself get a little bit too tired, and this spread, in my opinion really kind of turned out to be quite a mess, but I am glad that I did it! I also found that this spread helped me get warmed up, and inspired me to do another spread! 🙂

The second spread I did, I did not have a plan for that one either, but it is literally my favorite spread in my Soul Book now! 🙂

This was the first time I had ever used black gesso as my background layer, and it was also the very first time that I gave myself permission to use my good Golden’s acrylic paints, and man I am I soooo impressed!! When this spread was done, not only did I love it, it felt like oil cloth! As you might have noticed in the video, I just could NOT STOP PETTING IT!! LOL!!

Petting your art = LOVING IT!!! 😉

Anyway, bear with me, as I get myself caught up with my spreads here on my beautifulcreatives website, it will get done…I AM DETERMINED!!

Anyway, here is to a BEAUTIFUL Creative kind of night!

If you want a different life, you have to choose differently!

Soul Book Club #5!

Good morning, and OH MY!!

I have been doing such a bad job of keeping my blog in sync with my YouTube channel, so I thought I would take a few minutes over the next day or so to get myself caught up!

This week’s video is utilizing a technique that is one of my favorites. It consists of a stencil, some of your favorite acrylic paint colors, and a baby wipe! Super easy, but the end result looks a little bit magical – if I may say so myself!!

This week I show you how to easily get words down on your pages; the technique I am most proud of sharing is the homemade carbon paper transfer technique! Go check that out!

For this week’s thought, “She did it anyway.” Is something that is very near and dear to my heart! Being someone who lives with, what at times can be very severe anxiety issues, this is a sentiment that I should probably have tattooed to myself so that I never forget and am always reminded. Just because she felt *fill in the blank*, she did it anyway! I get so much more done in my life when I remember this truth for myself!

Here is to a She Did It Anyway kind of Day!!

Soul Book Club #4!

Good morning!

I hope you are enjoying my weekly Soul Book Club series! This week, I am happy to announce that week 4 is ready for your enjoyment!

I a really having a lot of fun recording these sessions, I think it is getting a little bit easier. I have been doing this process for a few years, but I am experimenting with how to go about teaching others how to play in your Soul Book, as well as how use your Soul Book as a tool to help you get from where you are to where you want to be, and to ultimately live an authentically creative life, in your own manner!

This week’s Soul Book journaling prompts:

I feel happy when…
I feel sad when…
I feel peaceful when…
I feel most myself when…
My favorite childhood memory…
My favorite memory as a teenager…
My favorite memory as an adult…
What is one area of my life needing attention?
What is one area of my life that is doing amazingly? How did you make it amazing? Can you translate that to other areas of your life?
If there is something that you have putting off, but you know you really should do it, what is that thing? What can you do within the next 10 minutes to take action on that thing?

Please feel free to copy and paste into Word or Pages, and then you will then have the ability to change the fonts style, colors, size, etc. I give you permission to use this list however you would like, including removing prompts, adding prompts, or even just wiping the entire list out and starting over!

I really do hope you are getting some goodness out of my weekly Soul Book Club videos!!

Thanks so much for watching!