A World Of Pure Imagination

This is a post from my new adventure, Fairy Much Fun! Come visit and take a look at our 2014 Holiday Fairy Homes.

We live in a world where being an adult means not believing in fairies (or hobbits, or gnomes, or birds that will do our laundry.) Okay, birds will probably never do our laundry, otherwise I'd have a very posh aviary with some very well fed birds, but the rest of it? Well, I'm done and ready to stick a fork in this belief that growing up means losing our imaginations! I'm not talking about completely up-rooting ourselves from reality. I'm talking about letting go of a pre-conceived notion that magic and love and amazing things aren't possible.

Photo from Deposit Photos

I'm putting this out there, because I'm done with my facade. I love the make-believe world. I cry when I go to Disney World. I get just as excited as my four year old when I meet Princess Belle or Aladdin. I believe that our trees have souls, that there is a place where fairies exist, and the number three is special. Let's remember that just because we can't comprehend something, doesn't mean it's not possible. Our eyes can only see what our brain can compute, so the next time you get unexplainable goosebumps, hear a soft whisper out of nowhere, or simply feel you aren't alone, take note and take heed, because just maybe, there's a reason for it.

So what's your secret? Encounter with a ghost? Have you seen something a bit odd in your peripheral vision? Feel a poke on your shoulder when no one was there? Please do share in the comments!

 

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New Adventure!

This blog is on an indefinite hiatus, but please feel free to look around. And check out my newest adventure - Fairy Much Fun!

Free Peace Cards + Summer Daydreaming

Peace Print

Hello, friends! So who watched Game of Thrones last night? Honestly, I did not see that coming and my mind is running rampant speculating over who the culprit was. I'll shut up though - no spoilers here.  

Anyway, made a new print over the weekend! This print is meant to remind you of the calming and relaxing nature of the ocean. I love the water and am so excited that we're getting closer to summer time. What does that mean? It means flip flops, beach hats, and sunscreen. We'll be traveling to the coast this summer with two young kids in tow. 

I'm really looking forward to putting my feet into that cool, clear water and eating sandy, homemade sandwiches while listening to the surf.  And I'm awfully good at the manta ray shuffle now. A few years ago, we were told to "shuffle" our feet through the water because it was mating season for the manta rays. They prefer to hide near the shore, right underneath the sand, so it's advised to shuffle your feet, rather than step, where you're more likely to put a foot smack down on a manta ray. Let's just say I got extremely good at shuffling! 

Anyway, below are some freebies. Just right click to save, print out and cut along the gray line, then fold in the middle. Now you have some calming peace note cards! Enjoy! :) 

(All free downloads are only for personal use.)

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Hold Your Love Like You Hold an Umbrella

Umbrella of Love Nursery Printable

Although this print is cutesy and references a popular children's book, I really intended for it to convey a message of love. The idea being that we should all carry around our love the same way we carry an umbrella in the rain. High above our heads, using it as a shelter, and ready to share it with someone who needs a warm and safe place to rest. There are many people - I am sure you can think of one or two - who hide under a ginormous umbrella of fear. They fend off the world with an enormously judgemental attitude and they relieve their own pain by spreading it to others. It can be really hard to want to share your umbrella with these types of people. But the next time someone annoys the poop out of you, just think of this sweet polka dot umbrella and two cute little mice sheltering from the storm of fear. I'm even going to give you a free print because I love you so much (check it out below - just click to download). It's a lot like the one above, but with a more grown up message. 

Enjoy! PS: Check out the advertisers and sponsors to the right and below this message and if you make a purchase through the link, I earn a little commission. I am hoping to earn some extra income so I can hire a sitter to watch my two little girls, while I work on my dream - writing a novel!

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FREEEE PRINTABLES: Motivating mini pep-talk-notes to get you into shape!

Even olympic athletes need motivational pep talks every now and then. That's essentially what these little notes are - little movitational pep talks for any one looking to get into better shape. Personally, I love hitting the gym, but getting there is a different story. I plop on the treadmill and slowly move to a trot, at which point my butt feels like it weighs about a million tons. Once the blood starts moving and my heart rate jumps up though, I hit an awesome high and I'm ready to take on the day! 

These little notes are here to help you get there. Maybe your "there" is the gym, maybe it's just doing crunches in the basement, or maybe it's taking the stairs at work, but I know you can do it. Click on the image above to print them out, tape them to your mirror, pin them to your cubicle wall, and place one on your dashboard. We all need these little moments to remind ourselves that we're worth it. We're worth the fight. We're worth the nutrients. And we're worth a better life. 

Good luck my loves. :)

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Pushing Past The Desert of Fear

Added another one! :)

Ice Cream Wonder Printable

I'm up late tonight and feeling, well, awful. Not sick. No. Just feeling restless, uneasy, and ungrateful. Nothing in particular happened today, so I wonder where do these feelings come from? 

I didn't make it to the gym today and I wonder about the possibilities of sweating out the "bad stuff." Is it possible these feelings are really just some type of foreign entity, digging deeper and deeper into the delicate spirit? It does seem that rigorous exercise has an effect on anxiety, stress, and general unhappiness. 

I have found that putting in the effort to fight these feelings can be fairly difficult, but necessary and given time, quite satisfying. The part of my psyche that says, "You'll never be good enough," is the part of me that lives in a vast desert of negativity and fear. I honestly don't think that desert will ever go away. It's a part of us and the only thing you can do is accept it, walk through it when necessary, but never, ever set up camp there. The only way out is to just keep moving. Force yourself to the gym. Get out the pen and write. Send that e-mail. Pick up the phone. Find something you want to accomplish and just do something, anything, even if it's a super small thing, to make it happen. Bonus points if it's something that scares you.

On to tomorrow, friends. 

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New Printables Added!

Check out some of the new prints I've added to the Etsy shop! Still trying to add more inventory, so hopefully I'll have a bunch more up in the next week. Colors and quotes can be changed, just PM via Etsy if you're interested!

"All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where its planted."

Artsy Tree Printable

Never Look Back Printable

Dream Big Doggie


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Taking the First Steps in Accomplishing A Dream

The Voyage of Discovery Printable

I ventured out last night to my first writing group! The goal of the group is to gather feedback and discussion on something you've written. It's scary to wade into such unknown waters, especially when I really have no idea what I am doing, but it feels good to force the fear aside and take the first steps toward accomplishing my dream of writing a novel. It may seem silly, but sharing my work is more nerve wracking than almost anything I have ever done before. Ever. Seriously. Anyway, as mentioned previously, I said I would share what I wrote here. Below is something I hammered out during my daughter's ballet class. I am not a ballerina, but I have watched enough documentaries to know it's a tough life. Enjoy. :) (It's not finished - I'm not sure I will finish it. Psst, advice is always welcome.)

Discipline is overrated. It's a trait that leaves you alone in the dark to wither away with nothing but bloody toes, brittle bones, and dashed hopes. No matter how detrimental it was though, discipline was my constant and favored companion. It gave me insurmountable highs and allowed me to dance with nothing but spotlights in my eyes and the rhythm of my heart. I practiced Pirouettes and Pliés and Relevés until I could literally no longer stand. I would bend and leap and turn until my body gave in, eventually crashing on the studio floor. I dreamed ballet. I spoke ballet. I was ballet.

I ate nothing though and malnutrition was something I carried like a badge of honor. I lived in Paris, a city where the delicious smell of warm butter, sugar, and fresh crepes wafted through sweet, cobblestone streets. The smell was intoxicating and would often render me woozy. I however relegated myself to a diet of only dry carrots and black coffee. I had no relationship with man or woman, instead I found myself creating sporadic, but pretend love affairs with everything I had forsaken: the glistening glazed breads that taunted me in patisserie windows, attending the cinema with girlfriends, enjoying leisurely strolls along the Champs-Elysee. These things I only visited in my mind, for in reality they were simply for people who couldn't control their destiny. I, however, was 5'8" and weighed 95 lbs. I worked hours upon hours on my craft, I shunned what made life beautiful, and I slowly descended into a world that didn't actually exist.

In hindsight, my mind began crumbling when I left New York for France. Maybe it was the incessant pressure of my career, maybe it was the fact I had broken my arm during an overwrought rehearsal, or maybe it was the fact that my boyfriend of five years decided we weren't meant to be anymore. I am sure all those things contributed to my cognitive decline, but ultimately, I am most certain it was the isolation which I inflicted upon myself. 

It began innocently enough with a snippet of missing time. One afternoon, I awoke suddenly on the sidewalk completely unaware of how I got there. Drool and concrete grit stuck to the side of my face and my gym bag hung around the neck of a rather pungent homeless man sitting next to me. I refused to believe this could be a problem. "I'm just really, really tired," I told myself, which was a very valid excuse. A tiny part of me acknowledged that I had hit levels of dangerous exhaustion and for the next few days, I indulged in long naps and marathons of The Real Housewives of Paris. My work schedule allowed for it and since I had no friends, there weren't any social engagements to be concerned about. A few days passed and, convinced I had regained enough energy, I went back to my regular schedule of 18 hour days. Carrots and coffee were still my staple items, but now I proudly included celery and fat free cottage cheese and for a while it seemed the extra protein was all I needed. Everything was back to normal. Dance and sleep, dance and sleep, dance and sleep. I was functioning. I had pulled it off. I was going to survive. 

Until one day, I didn't survive. Those weeks where everything was "normal," had merely been the calm before the storm. This time I didn't wake on the sidewalk, I didn't wake in an ambulance or even in a hospital bed. I awoke in my own world, even more isolated than I was before, and the only way out was through a series of incredibly difficult acts of courage. 

2014 is the year I...

Accomplish Great Things Printable available in my Etsy Shop

2014 is the year I am going to write a novel.

Okay, shit. How the hell am I going to write a novel? I call myself an illustrator or a designer because I spent a whole four years partying, er, I mean studying at a school for that purpose. I earned that title by playing both teams - the Mac team and the PC Team, duh! - and by learning how to deal with eccentric bosses, one of which who liked to make up words and insisted I look at 150 of his vacation photos. Not to mention the tuition that was paid at school, which was like an academic dating game. I paid my money and the school put out in the form of a diploma. I'm not saying it was that easy, there were certainly some tough classes and brutal all nighters, but yeah, it definitely was that easy. 

So here I am on the brink of calling myself of a writer. What a farce!? I fear any moment the world will find me out and hang me at the gallows. "A writer!? Hah," they will claim, "for my pig could write better words than her!" Sigh... well, if I had Charlotte helping me, I would probably be as good as that pig. (Really silly reference there, don't hate me.)

I am going to do this though. I am going to fight every freaking ounce of fear and make this effing book happen. The first book will probably be horrible, but my goal is to at least complete one novel and hone my craft in the process. Hopefully, the next one will be better. And if you ask why I have so much passion for this, I feel it's almost unanswerable, but my heart truly yearns for it. I can't really explain it any other way. It's not about becoming the most amazing writer, it's about telling the most amazing story and creating an entirely new world that you can not only immerse yourself in, but one that turns the depths of your soul into the hardest stone and the gentlest of waters. (Crap, was that a run-on sentence? I'm going to need a damn good editor.)

I signed up for a group where we all bring something we've written for feedback and critique. I'm shaking in my jeans on this one, but I've got to start somewhere. I'll share it here when I'm done! Until then, have a good weekend friends. Love to you all. 

Goals Reviewed. Spinach Nuggets Await.

Above: Making Things Happen Powersheets. These are so beyond awesome and I highly recommend them. I have started using them in my own goal setting endeavors. 

I feel like for the past year, I have been a professional ambler. I've been walking around, slow and half asleep, like a bored cat constantly chasing her kittens. Now that my second daughter has made it to the milestone year of one and sleep comes at more regular intervals, I finally feel like I can rejoin society. Although, I have to admit, there are times when I have the appearance of someone who comes from a tribe of never-washed nomads rather than civilized society, but such is life.

So anyway, as I mentioned earlier, 2014 is my year of no excuses. This means a few goals are on the to-do list (not in order of importance): One, get fit. Two, focus more on love, not fear. Three, write a novel. Four, generate passive income. 

In the beginning of 2014 I signed up for a local mud run! I am scared out of my pants on this one, but it certainly lit a fire under my butt to hit the gym! I can now run a 12 minute mile and learned that burpees are awesome for almost every part of the body, except the brain which will try to convince you that eating rotten eggs is better than burpees. 

On passive income, I am working on that. I don't really have an established amount as to how much I would like to generate, but I figure I will work on actually selling some stuff first. More about this another time though. Mac and cheese is on the stove. Spinach nuggets in the oven. We eat fancy over here.

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