Take My Funk Away Doughnut Man

A little over a month ago I was out in my yard playing in the dirt. The sun was out for one of its first times of the year. It felt wonderful - I can't remember feeling that good in a long time. School and homework have taken precedence over digging my hands in the dirt for well over a year, in fact, I think it has taken precedence over everything in my life. While digging and pulling I realized something else. I think....I've been in a funk! Way too much focus and time on school and little else.

As a true believer in serendipity, that weekend I read about TEDx on Paul's facebook page. I sent him an email and asked what it was about and soon had tickets for Kristi and myself.





As we arrived we were given gift bags and a wide array of goodies to eat. I had my very first Sin Dog (Lord have Mercy!) and my very first Voodoo doughnut, a vegan maple bar (made with banana instead of butter)!



Mid-break we went outside to enjoy the sun rays that were trying to break through and there he was....Tres Shannon, the creator of Voodoo Doughnuts! And yes, of course I needed to talk and get my picture with him. But women, let me tell you something....that doughnut guy "knows" things, yes he does! He's very TRES-ious!



A day of true inspiration, the speakers were wonderful, delivering their powerful words and ideas on community, sustainability, the environment, simplifying your life and surrounding yourself with activities and people you are passionate about.

I've been in the dirt several times since. I think my funk...has begun to disappear!!!!

Pixie's Mom....That's Me!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I love the reason Mother's Day began (it's not a Hallmark conceived holiday which I tend to dislike because I think they are forced upon people). It actually started in the United States by a woman named Anna Jarvis who was on a mission to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community. I love a woman on a mission!

I absolutely love being a mom. From the first moment when the doctor confirmed I was pregnant, I was so giddy with excitement. She is the best gift I have ever received ~ there is nothing in my life that I treasure more.



I love that she is Pixie and I am Dixie.
I love that she loves Flower Drum Song as much as me.
I love our talks at the kitchen counter.
I love playing order with her.
I love when she and I have inside jokes.
I love having a secret place that we go to sit and eat and no one knows about it.
I love belly laughing to tears with her.
I love that she takes control of our trips in other countries.
I love hanging out with her.
I love when she understands my sadness.
I love when she sends me random text messages saying how great I am.
I love sharing winks between us.
I love that she is not only pretty but VERY smart.
I love that she was the catalyst for finding my mojo at age 50.
I love that she is honest to tell me when I keep doing the same things over and over.
I love that she sends me emails late at night when I am upset over something.
I love that she went with me to spend my day with Beth.
I love that she understands how I feel about my Dad.
I love that she loves children and that she is kind to the elderly.
I love that she is proud of me for getting my college degree.
I love spending the night at her house.
I love dancing to Blue Moon with her in the kitchen.
I love that she makes me feel that I did a fantastically great job of raising her.
I love that she loves my art.
I love that she is my daughter.

Thank you Pix for making me such a lucky and happy and blessed Mom ~ I love you more!

My Art and Bar Code is Traveling to a City Near You!

Drum roll..........

Today in the mail I received my 2012 World Tour Sketchbook.




This is a project where you receive an empty sketch book (cover, back and insides are blank). You are given a choice of themes to pick from ~ I chose "I Remember You".

I have the remainder of the year to complete my book (drawing, painting, gluing, writing); it's to be sent back by Jan. 31st, 2012. I am quite giddy to begin, having been writing down numerous ideas for its pages since I first chose my theme.

Now for the an even better part of this project......IT'S TRAVELING to a city near you!!!! My book has its very own bar code....you can check it out, you can check me out! The tour begins in April, 2012.

It will begin in Brooklyn NY and then on to the wonderful cities of Portland, ME, Boston, MA, Toronto, ON, Chicago, IL, Vancouver, BC, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, Melbourne, VIC, London, UK, Atlanta, GA and Philadelphia, PA. How exciting is that? (Oh how I wish I could travel with it. I do have friends in quite a few of those cities, so maybe they will pay it a visit when it comes to their hometown!). I will be done with school when the tour begins, so just maybe I will be able to visit some of those places....hmmmm...the wheels begin to turn!

The 2011 Tour has a stop in Seattle next month which I plan to see (I am thinking of taking an early morning train trip up there). Nikki's will be there awaiting a visit from me and I hope to run into Helen from the Collage Collaborative group.

I am just in love with the possibilities of this blank book and giddy with excitement for the possibilities of the new found adventures it will lead me to ~ after all.....I do have a bar code!

Tiny + Paper = Nothing But Goodness!

I love tiny things as much as I love paper. So when Corinne mentioned that there was a tiny book swap going on my ears perked up. I clicked on Lenna Andrews "Creativeswaps Blog". She coordinates several artsy swaps and I signed up for the tiny book one which has 60 participants from all over the world!

A while back Kristi and I needed a homework break and decided to take a leisure Sunday art class at Collage making tiny origami books. I thought these would be perfect for the exchange and so the folding began.






Since the books have empty pages to fill and corners to tuck things into, I decided to add an embellishment and a tiny bag of goodies to accompany each one.



And now they are ready to be sent on to Lenna.




I check her blog and see Corinne's tiny books that she has already sent in. Oh my! Hers are #3 on the blog and truly magnificent (as in everything she does!). I email and ask for instructions which she gladly shared. They are made with those itty bitty squares which I still have a closet full of ~ so I'm thinking.....

Sixty tiny books, for which I can only imagine their unique artfulness. And four will be coming back to me (fingers crossed for one of Corinne's!).