And the HITS and good news just keep on coming!

I told you all about the Love Launch training I went to a month ago, right? Well... all I gotta say is... AMAZING things have happened to me since. Let me just start painting you the picture. I told you about this group I am involved with. A group of visionaries. People who are creating green technology based businesses. The week following LoveLaunch, I was offered my choice of officer positions with the company! I chose COO, because my background is in management and operations. THEN... I started volunteering for the local Juvenile Hall Thrift Store the Hall Closet. It is only open 2 days a week, and is completely staffed and run by volunteers. After working there for a week, I asked the director of the program if I could start sorting things from the donations to create an art program for the kids in Juvenile Hall. She says "Sure, that would be great..." then I tell her my big Mondo Beyondo dream is to have a store carrying altered art supplies, with a large studio and gallery to house the art. From there I wanted to offer low cost materials to teachers and artists, and FREE art classes to the kids in the community. Here eyes lit up. I told her my biggest need was a free space to house it. DING, your wish is my command... she takes me around and shows me all this vacant building space on the grounds and says is this big enough? How about this? You need tables, chairs, shelving? We can get you all of that...! So my little idea of an art program has quickly blossomed into my huge mondo beyondo dream just by opening my mouth! I love how the universe supports you in the things you do. Just by stating my intention and putting it out there... I created it. It is still being created... I need approval from the county and the powers that be to use the building. I need to do a boatload of paperwork to file all the documents to get things going... I have some personal business that is pressing that needs to be wrapped ip, I have to get ready to leave for Artfest April 1st. I have my new COO duties with the Green company, I am doing some swaps at Swap-Bot and catalysts with Creative Therapy... there is not enough hours in the day and I LOVE IT!!! So... stay tuned here for updates. My goal is to have enough donations to open the art store by June 1st. Ambitious I know, so if any of you know of ANYONE, a business or person who can donate items to us for the store and program, please email me ASAP. I will DRIVE anywhere in the Bay Area to pick items up. I have a list of things we are looking for, in addition to anything you would buy at Joann's, Michaels, Richards, Aaron Brothers etc. We are also looking for volunteer artists and teachers to help us create projects, teach and decorate the building. It all goes to a great cause... so give me a shout if you are interested. Oh, and here is the BEST part... I am eligible for grant funding and help from the green biz, because my project is "Green" How cool is that? I got so many ideas floating around, I can't contain them all in my head... I gotta write it all down... get the good stuff out there... cause that is when it grows wings and flies... SO... if you have a big idea milling around in your head... get clear with yourself... do your inner work, and then start putting your idea out to the universe... It is like a magic Genie with unlimited wishes to grant you... All you gotta do is ask... and don't be afraid to receive it!

Exciting News!!!!!!

I joined a group that is doing amazing things. Check out the website here and let me know what you think. These are some really talented ladies. I love that the work all has deeper meaning. Many of the ideas or "Catalysts" as we call them, are things that moved us to a deeper sense of self, and a healing process was attained. You get MORE... The layouts and art are just MORE... I used to be a photo scrapper... if the photo motivated me to something pretty, I would scrap it. Or (more often that not) it was a specific product call. This one motivates the hell out of me, and scares the crap out of me at the same time. Nowhere else would I be more real, than on the pages of the book I am starting for this website. When I finish, these pages, all done about me and my feelings, will tell my children and grandchildren more about the woman I was, than anything else I might leave behind. I urge you to start a catalyst book of your own. Do one page a week just about yourself... I Promise you will get so much out of it. In all honesty, the pages I had published in magazines were usually chosen because the journaling was really meaningful. The work I did for Sharon Soneff's Healing Art Journals book convinced me even more of the really great therapy art and journaling can do for a person. I had some big, huge shifts in myself as a result. I love the stories... so come on... tell me some of yours!

Artfest Trades

Here is a photo of my trades in progress. I am trying to make 100 of them, I had originally thought 200, but it is a lot of work. So I am just doing 100, taking 200 Moo cards, (if they ever arrive) and that will be that. I am not packing huge amounts of stuff. I want to go and experience it all as an adventure. Just a basic tool and supply kit, and maybe a few half finished projects I might want to work on in the Art Assylum. The fever is building, the board has been very active, and there are still people selling their spots at the last minute. If you live on the west coast or have access to cheap flights to Seattle and want to go, email me or check out the Artfest Yahoo group and see who is posting spots for sale. I am so excited. For many reasons, which I will post here tomorrow. Evedry day it gets better and better.

Big hugs to all of you... you lurkers out there who I KNOW read my blog and never post to let me know you have been here... I love you all!

Waste Management Wetlands

Today Kayleigh's class had a field trip to the wetlands sanctuary. It is conveniently located between the Shell refinery and the Highway and the water treatment plant. And yet, amidst all that sewage, and petrolleum and concrete, there is a beautiful little spot of nature. You see it when you come southbound 680 over the Benicia Bridge, but you just think it is a marsh.. and don't really know the beauty that is there. The kids toured the water treatment plant and learned how water and waste in the water is recycled and put back out into the delta. The went on a walk and looked at the bird sanctuary. We did PH tests and other chemestry experiments on the water, and then went and dipped nets in the water to collect samples of fish and other critters living in the water. It was a fun experience. I had been to the Dow Wetlands in pittsburg... but this was better. They have people from the Alexander Lyndsay Jr. Museum there to do all the classes with the kids.

This place is great. They take in injured animals that are indigenous to the area, and heal them and if possible, return them to the wild after they heal. It is a great education resource for your kids. Another cool place to check out if you live in the area and have never been. They have lots of animals there that the kids can see and observe. The saddest one is a mountain lion that had been declawed and chained to a tree. They rescued her, and now she is there in the museum in a glass cage. I wish they had a large habitat for her. But she seems happy there.

I gotta say, even with my new "Go Green" attitude about recycling... I never knew for sure what happened to the water and other "stuff" once you flushed the toilet. Well... now I know... and I may never drink tap water again...

Austin's Birthday

My little Austie is 16. Where has the time gone. it seems like yesterday I could hold him in one hand... now he is a young man. We spent the day with him celebrating his birthday. We made homemade chicken ceaser salad with homemade croutons, strawberries with fresh whipped cream, and a giant chocolate chip cookie for dessert... He was one happy kid. And the only thing he wanted was an ATM Debit card for his bank account so he could order stuff for gaming on line... Such an easy kid to please. After our yummy lunch, we took a walk through the park behind our house. Literally, these were taken on the other side of our back fence. We have a gate on the back fence so we can go out into the park. What a beautiful view, huh? Just thought I would share with my midwest and east coast and European friends who still have cold and snow for a few more weeks... It was 75 degrees, perfect weather for a walk, and early enough in the pollen season that we weren't sneezing too badly yet... It was the perfect end to a perfect day. I just wished I had the final parting shot of all 3 kids, snuggled under blankets in Austin's dads all playing various games on line in his command central bedroom. That was a great moment...

SCRAP is AWESOME!!!!

I went to SCRAP in San Francisco. It is amazing! If you live in the Bay Area and haven't been, you GOTTA go! If you are coming here to visit and you like altered art and assemblage, it is a must see stop. Aisles of shelves bursting with all kinds of stuff... I shot a couple photos inside, but the lighting is dim and they really didn't come out too great... So I photographed some of my finds when I got home. I met up with some Bay Area Art Festers to trade ATC's and just get to know one another. It has been a really fun day. I took photos of trades and books, but not one photo of the ladies there... What a lameo.... They were all so nice, and welcoming. What a fun bunch. I hope to meet up with them again.

More ATC's

I have never really made these before. I love collaging, and cutting very detailed things out. I was happy with how these turned out.. for my first attempts. They are pretty plain. Next time I think I will try adding jewels and textural stuff. When I scrapbooked, I loved lumpy textural things on my pages. I remember making a mardi Gras mask for the CK Disney Memories magazine with a real feather mask... This was back in 1999... and now texture is all the rage. Funny, when I pitched these ideas to several publishers, they all told me there was no market for my ideas... Hmmm... I think I need to take my ideas more seriously. I now consider myself a visionary thinker. It makes me feel good to know I was 10 years ahead of the times...

I LOVE spring

These are photos I took on my walk today. Look closely at the Oak Tree... do you see her, the lady with the cat face, dancing? If you walk a few steps ahead, you can't see it. It was just perfect that I stopped in that position to snap a photo, and as I took a second look, she showed herself to me... I love photographing trees in the spring. I love all the flowers and colors of spring. Even though I get really sick with allergies and asthma, it is still my favorite time of year.

Alameda Antiques Show

This show is AMAZING. It gets bigger each month. This weekend we went and the weather was sunny. We got a little sunburnt after the wind died down. I tried to snap a few pix, but we almost RAN the aisles. Pascual swears it was like 4 miles walking. It is held on the airstrip of the old NAS Alameda air base across from the Port of Oakland. The view is so beautiful, the stuff is awesome, if a bit pricey. I was still able to find a few treasures. If you live anywhere within California and like antiques shows, you should go to this one. Heck, even if you don't , you could make a trip out here and check it out. People come from Japan to shop this show... It is the first Sunday of the month every single month. Check them out here to get more info. There are lots of ephemera specialists and one guy sells nothing but altered art supplies. Everything needs to be 20 years old to sell out there... Many of the dealers are regulars there. For the best bargains, start at the back and work your way forward. The new dealers or non-regulars are put out there and they usually have better prices... I would love to hear from other junkers about where you like to go to find your cool stuff... Please post a response here and let us all know!