Deb and I

Secret #8 is all about creative partnerships. I am very fortunate to have friends who partner with me creatively in various forms. I could write about the adventures of transforming an old farmhouse into a country home with a bit of charm- thanks, Pam for partnering with me in the venture of using a little money and a lot of your creative eye. My daughter partnered with me in mixed media art for a few years. I continue to be inspired by her talent and the time she finds to create. I love your latest creation Amber, your blog Disrupted by Change. Check it out on my list of favorites. This week I got together with Nancy, whose partnership in developing a women's conference reminded me of the value of bringing together our ideas to create a whole. I experienced the power of team work last spring when a few beautiful women came together with a vision for a Spring Celebration.
In 2009, I am meeting once a month with my friend Deb partnering in a self-care workshop online. Although we've only met twice, she checks in regularly. I have found this accountability to set and stick to my goals important. Most of all, Deb continues to challenge me to take care of myself. I am working on it. Thanks Deb for inspiring me to move beyond where I am, yet enjoy each moment.
I have been thinking a lot about the women who challenge and inspire me to dream bigger than I am. I celebrate them today.

Party

I love these Board Books by Bo Bunny. They come in the form of plain chipboard and you can add various papers, ribbons, buttons, bling and photos. I've made a Friends album and a Baby album,too. They are a lot of fun to make and my granddaughter loves to receive them. This one went postal yesterday.

Oscars

I've been kicking myself all day for staying up until midnight to watch the Oscars. I wouldn't be so tired today, I wasted 4 hours, (more if you count the Red Carpet), Sean Penn's speech was troubling ,and on and on go the thoughts. The truth is the gowns were gorgeous, the host was amazing, I liked the changes they made to the format, and it felt a bit like the old Hollywood glamor for the most part. Having Brad and Angelina in the front row helped.
In the scope of things, I may have been a bit less productive today, but one night a year with the stars just might be worth it. I'll get to bed a bit earlier tonight.

Secret #7 Consulting your Guides

I honestly struggled with this chapter. I can't remember any type of creativity in our home growing up. After much thought, I realized that my love for writing came from a love to read. That I credit to my mother. This is probably the #1 thing for which I am grateful to her. I don't remember being read to as a child, but I can't remember a time when books weren't a part of our home. Books became my mentors over the years. Thus I chose the photo of my mother looking through the binoculars to place on this post. She placed binoculars to the world in my hands by way of imparting her love of reading to me.

Be Still

The weather has been brutally cold here this winter. Today was a gorgeous reprieve. Although I had many things that needed my attention, I couldn't stand it any longer. Donning my coat, hat, gloves and boots I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.
I wanted to soak in a few minutes of sunshine but I was unprepared for the utter stillness.
I wonder how much we think about the noise in our lives? My pellet stove runs non-stop in this cold weather along with the daily sounds i.e. the washer, the furnace, the phone etc. All of it stopped.
I stood still in the silence, listening to the sound of my own breathing.

Secret #6

This is week #6 in Secrets of Highly Creative Women. I've been asking myself the question this morning,"What is it that sabotages my creativity?"
Here goes:
#1- Everything else takes priority, creative moments not seeming as important compared to the needs of home, business, and people.
#2- I have this thinking that successful creativity looks like this ,whatever this is.
The revelation that I am being creative in various ways was freeing. The photo I posted on this page is evidence. I have always wanted to grow flowers. The last two summers I have experimented with Container Gardening. I have this eyesore of a stone patio which has always bugged me. Last summer I filled it with containers of various flowers and a mini waterfall that my son gave me for Christmas. It became my favorite place to sit and breathe. At one point I gathered with a few friends and we prayed together in the midst of all that beauty. And guess what? It was my creative success!
Learning this principle (creativity comes in many forms) is freeing.
Having said that, I liked what Andrea Sher said this week about writing for 15 minutes a day. I do this in journal form, but I really want to expand my writing skills. I want to form some kind of ritual around this 15 minute time slot so that I will do it every day. I have never been able to fit this into my mornings. I am rethinking the whole process including the timing. Get out of the box, girl!

SEAWALL

Yesterday in Book Club we were talking about the ocean. The writer of the memoir we had read lived beside the Adriatic Sea. A longing stirred inside of me to stand on the rocks beside the sea and breathe in the salt air.

Secret #5 Self Focus

Merely thinking the words self-focus used to conjure up feelings of guilt inside of me. When Dr. Phil published his book "Self Matters" several years ago, I avoided it simply because of the title. It seemed un- Christian like to head in that direction. Books that I am meant to read find their way into my hands regardless of my resistance. Self Matters was a critical stop in a healing journey for me. I loved it and a wall was forever removed from my life as a result.

One of my goals for this year was to treat myself to something special each month. The picture in this post displays January's treat. Desperately missing my flowers in midwinter, I drove to the florist and bought several blossoms of various colors. This one was my favorite. It remained on my desk way past the time when it could no longer hold up its droopy head.

I love one of Jamie's thought threads-"You can't be in a relationship if you leave yourself out."
The two areas mentioned in Secret #5 that I work on regularly are setting boundaries and variety ( always so many creative things I want to do).

Secret #4 Surrendering to Creative Cycles

This is my first post for the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women Group. I have been working this week on catching up to where the group is presently. In Chapter 2 I started to answer a series of questions and had the thought, "i will do this in the form of a poem." Something amazing began to flow. The poem wasn't pretty or uplifting, but showed me the place in my life where I had gotten stuck creatively. This was quite a revelation. It's rough, but I don't care. It began a thought process about these creative cycles we are delving into.



Stop

In the wake of their departure

my hands extend from the whirlwind.

Hurry

or be blown away

I fear.


Alone.

Worlds pulling and pushing, colliding.

I collapse in a heap.


Copy, copy, copy

copycat artist

pretending

i disappear.


Press, push, pray, prove.

Broken body groans.

I'm crying in the dark.


Stop



I know this doesn't mean anything to my readers, but it sure does to me and I knew after I wrote this that I had been stuck. Now that place is letting me go.



One more thing . Creativity takes many forms. I have felt guilty for neglecting my writing and artistic side. I realized after reading these chapters and listening to Leah, that I create regularly in my cooking, flower arranging, journaling, and so much more. What a release!

Peace in the Storm

Last week I spent a few days with Cindy, my sis-in-law. Mid-week we had a snowstorm. This picture was taken out her window of a beautiful, soft snow. We had a fire in the fireplace and there were no demands, no phone calls, nothing but enjoying my daughter and Cindy. It was a moment of extravagant peace.