Healing Journal Challenge...

I looked up all the things that are wrong with me in the Heal Your Body Book by Louise Hay the other day... I found it really interesting that everything boiled down to the same core issues... I decided to create a healing journal with the illness/diagnosis, the metaphysical reason for the illness, and the affirmation to change the belief causing the issue... I will be posting it here. My friend Danita is joining me in a healing journal project as well... Anyone else out there have some body issues they want to look at more closely and release? I am hopeful that the process of making the journal, really looking at the issue and then releasing it will help me to heal myself and my life in ways I am not even able to imagine... Stay tuned in the weeks to come as I share what I learn here....

First step is creating the journal....  I bought a TON of these little books at the dollar store about 7 years ago and have had them in a box all this time...  I had been covering them with recycled clothing from the depot and selling them at art fairs and craft boutiques...  So I am starting with one of these... covering it with an old T-shirt and then gessoing the pages to give them strength....  I will post the finished book tomorrow with instructions...

Looking for the pony

I know I have told the story before... but for those who don't know it, my grandma was always an optomist...  She loved to tell this story about the identical twins, one was a pessemist and one was an optomist. Their mother took them in  for a medical study, and they put the pessemist kid in a room full of toys, and the optomist kid in a room full of horse poo.... They left them alone for 15 minutes and went back to check on them...  The pessemist kid was crying in the middle of the room, saying that there was no use playing with the toys because they were just going to make him leave anyway and he couldn't really enjoy them if he couldn't keep them... Then they went to check on the optomist kid, he was nowhere in sight.  In the far corner of the room, they saw movement, and he was elbows deep in the poop, scooping it up and throwing it over his shoulder, digging another huge scoop and flinging it over his shoulder.  The doctor asked him what he was doing, and the little boy wiped an arm across his sweaty brow and stated "With all this horse shit, there has GOT to be a pony in here SOMEWHERE!"

That is my life these days...  Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes your the bug... I just keep looking for the pony, and hoping and trusting that it will all be so much better on the other side of the room full of horse poo....

Family, Friends, shopping and cocktails

I spent the day yesterday with my friends  Pat, Debi, Joanne and Mel...  As always, we had a really great time eating, power shopping and getting caught up on all our lives...  We only see each other about once or twice a year, but when we do, the fun is ON...  I love that we can come together, appreciate seeing one another and catch up, and then go on with our lives, picking up where we leave off the next time we see each other.  They are incredibly sweet and talented ladies with the greatest sense of humor...  I LOVE being around them... 

Then I spent a few days of quality time with my mom, stepdad and nieces....  and a day with my wonderful daughter Megan... Nothing beats hanging out with two of your favorite females on the planet. Megan, Mom and I went and saw Inception... what a GREAT movie... You can't really describe it, you have to just experience it...  Megan was on the edge of her seat in the theatre...  Mom and I got a kick out of her.

After the trip up north this time...  I realized that I am missing a sense of belonging somewhere.  I don't really belong here yet... and with constantly taking a trip up there every 2 weeks, I am not really here or there....  I am in limbo, still living out of boxes, struggling to unpack things between various doctor appointments and making sure not to overdo it with the arm...  Taking the time to take care of myself has been one of my hardest life lessons... and I think I am still not learning it very well...  But I am also getting clear that part of settling in and getting comfortable with a place comes with time... I just need to learn to flow with the timeframes a little better.  Patience.... I need it... and I need it NOW!

I haven't had much opportunity to make friends here in the OC. I did meet one sweet lady named Danette from the Kelly Rae Roberts flying lessons class that lives about 40 minutes from me... She was really lovely, and we chatted for a couple hours at Barnes and Noble about art, and our dreams of where we want to take our art... We are planning on creating some art dates to get together and actually DO art here soon. I have been trying to create some community for myself down here... I went to Katherine England's studio, which is in Fullerton, and met some gals in her Monday Nite Class that were a hoot... She is an incredible artist. I knew it was her house before the GPS told me... It is Periwinkle blue with chartreuse green trim with the cutest whimsical fence... I went to check out the studio and see if it was a class I would be interested in taking. I felt really honored, because she told me initially that I couldn't be in that class because it was full, but several of them talked to her and voted me in... I was stoked about that... They were so welcoming and fun... Eating dessert and drinking wine... My kind of gals! I am looking forward to getting to know them better. I also posted a note on the Artfest website about looking for OC artists that wanted to get together regularly for art play dates... I had a few people respond, and I am collecting names so I can start a group. I even met a scrapbooker at the Wal Mart in the magazine aisle who I plan to call and contact about getting together to scrapbook... So it is all coming together slowly...  I think things will pick up once the kids get here at the end of the month....

God Bless America and Flea Markets...

We spent the morning at the Pasadena City College Flea Market...  Let me tell you, these people got it going on... They have the actual market at the college.  You park in the far parking structure and ride the golf cart shuttles in the the market.  There are 2 lots on either side of a 3 story parking structure.  The market is inside the parking structure, and in the 2 outside lots.  There is no admission charge like Long Beach, Rose Bowl, Alameda and some of the other antiques markets I have been to.  They do require the vendors to sell items at least 20 years old and the prices are the best I have found down here so far.  Lots of record dealers, and vintage clothing people... And jewelry vendors galore with all the fun costume jewelry from the 30's thru 60's.  I did see some great furniture buys too, but was not there for furniture that day.  Definately check it out.  It is worth the trip....  It happens on the 1st Sunday of every month. 

We spent the evening at the park in Yorba Linda with our friends Mike and Claire and all their British friends.  It was a fun way to kick off our first official holiday here in So Cal.  Really great fireworks show.