embrace. {my one little word}

since it is almost the end of january, i was just going to touch base with my one little word project. this year, i chose the word embrace and i think it is the perfect word for this year. so far, there have been numerous things to happen and i have really been trying to comprehend and understand them all. i have found that by changing the way i think about them, to embrace them, has really enabled me to the beginning level of acceptance and hopefully true understanding. this project is really wonderful and i am looking forward to having a completed journal by the end of 2011 reflecting and documenting all that i have consciously 'embraced' within my year. i chose the word embrace because i really believe that acceptance and embracing situations for what they are are vital steps to achieving inner peace. i may not always understand a situation fully, but if i can work to embracing it for what it is and look beneath and realize that i can embrace and accept it...then maybe it will work to bring about more peace within, rather than anxiety. i have also been working to embrace my 'creative' drive and have been slowly working on some layouts of events last year for my album. this layout is documenting the trip matt and i took in september. looking back for some reason this trip seems so far away so i am thankful that i have these memories in a safe place where i can go back and relive such a special time. i am also loving using a bunch of photos on a layout...i am really loving the collage style. i think it is a great way to tell a story, capture a bunch of photos on one page, and i just think it looks cute! i am looking forward to embracing next month, completing the next part of our project and seeing what is in store. i really love the whole 'one little word' concept and encourage anyone and everyone to try it. of course you do not have to do it as a scrapbook type album or project, but it is a neat way to hang on and work towards bringing something positive into your life. something to focus on and work towards. i always think how amazing it is how the things you focus and concentrate on in your life are brought back to you in various ways. just a thought!

been wondering.

the other weekend i made this necklace for this beautiful girl i met at creative escape. she is embarking on a wonderful new adventure in her life. she is also going through a heartbreaking challenge. i usually do not like to talk or write about negative things on my blog, but these days i have just been wondering about a lot of things. since the new year, it seems like so many people are going through so much darkness, struggle and trial in their lives and at times for me it is just so hard to comprehend it all. i have and continue to be blessed with so much good in my life, and i have never taken one second for granted. one of the things that i try to instill in my life on a daily basis is 'conscious mindfulness'. to be in the moment, to be present, to be thankful. all of these innocent and amazing people that have been dealt such struggle are all so wonderful and did not ask for any of it. but i also believe that in life the dark moments and dark days exist for the sole purpose to bring about more light, more hope, more resiliency within those that are in the midst of it all. like it or not, we are all going to be participants in life's messy game and i guess the more open we can be to the waves of change, the better we can face head on whatever is to come our way. on another note, these days i have been enjoying my ipod, reading 'the power of now', drinking green tea, journaling, making homemade soup and am so excited that american idol has started up again. savoring the simple everyday indulgences that inspire me and energize my heart.

everyday beautiful.

a cozy saturday, chilly temperatures outside...a fire burning in the woodstove inside, and my pj's. truly my idea of an 'everyday beautiful' moment. simple, serene, calming and peaceful. it is not everyday in the midst of all the busy-ness that we all tend to find ourselves in that one can just stop, be mindful and appreciate the simplicity and calmness of the day. that is what this day has been for me. even had time to create which made the day even better. savoring this day, this moment, this time. my heart is full of gratitude for today.

new project.

this is my new baby. my new project. my new start to 2011 is in this amazing little book. i had got this journal back in december and knew that it would come in handy for the perfect project one day. little did i know that the amazing women of house of three would come up with the PERFECT project for this journal. The kit is amazing and so much fun to work with. The possibilities are truly endless. There are spots in the journal for weight loss, changing habits, creating new habits, fostering creativity, refocusing, the list goes on and on. i am so excited to get started. i have been in the mindset of wanting to document more of my everyday and i know this journal will help me do just that.

1.1.11

Hello 2011, Goodbye 2010. Wow...a year that I remember just beginning like it was yesterday is truly now behind us. I am so looking forward to a FRESH start, a FRESH year, with FRESH possibilities and a clean slate ahead. I believe it is going to be such a great year and am looking forward to it all! Like a wonderful quote I found stated, "an ending does not have to be sad. It is the only way to begin something NEW"...so very true. I feel that there will be new things on the horizon for me this year and I am truly going to embrace every moment, chance, and opportunity to enjoy life and all of it's crazy ups and downs. We celebrated the new year by attending a family friends wedding. It was a very unique way to ring in the new year and quite inspiring to be there to watch two people join in a new life together hours before a new year was to be welcomed. It was truly beautiful! I think it is time to BEGIN!

Looking Ahead.

With only a few days left of 2010, it is time to start looking ahead to a new year. Looking back on 2010, what a year. A year full of ups and downs, blessings, happy times, struggles, personal growth and MORE change, I am ready to say goodbye and look ahead to a year I believe holds nothing but possibility and opportunity. The holidays this year were amazing. It is always so incredible to surround oneself with amazing people, good food, laughter, comfort and rest. The BEST part of the holiday season. Of course I did not take as many photos as I would have liked too (again) but I guess I was just too busy enjoying the moments to worry about the photos this year! Lately there have been lots of things weighing on my mind and I am just in the midst of trying to sort some things out just in time for the new year. Things that I want to focus more on, things that I want to let go of, and others that I am determined to begin to make peace with, for once and for all. I am ready to look ahead and EMBRACE. That being, my one little word for 2011. Ali Edwards began this little "idea" a few years back and I have adopted it ever since. Having a "one little word" is such an amazing way to put a year into perspective. To set forth goals and ideas and thoughts about life. It is just a little something to carry with you as a new year begins to carry in your heart and your life and to help you make things happen and achieve what you want to. The word embrace for me is so important because of where I am right now and how important I have come to realize it is to embrace and accept life and what it hands you. To embrace and accept opens your heart and mind to even more than a person ever thought was possible. I believe it makes the difficult easier, the unimaginable more manageable and the future just a little less scary. I am ready to begin and embrace 2011.

Peace.Love.Joy.

"Peace is not something you wish for; it is something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away" - Robert Fulghum Right now, at this very moment I am so grateful to feel PEACE. I came across this quote and I just fell in love with it and something I believe with all of my heart. Peace in our lives is cultivated by us, by the way we choose to feel think believe and live our lives. How we choose to interpret and perceive a situation. This all contributes to our experiences and feelings of peace. I am just feeling SO grateful for so many things. I am finding PEACE in the simple things and moments. Especially today. I had such a wonderful weekend filled with so much joy and conversation and love and all that good stuff! It was amazing and I am so grateful for that. I felt peace today when I was looking out the window watching the snow fall so lightly outside. I was cozy on the couch, with a warm blanket...a fire lit beside me in the wood stove. That was such an amazing moment of peace for me today. So awesome! I felt peace when I was washing my beautiful new fleece bedding Matt and I received as a gift. A total piece of heaven on earth. I LOVE the little things, the simple joys, the little treasures...and I LOVE that I notice them and take the time to recognize them and not let them pass me by. It makes me feel so fulfilled and full of power and energy. I am so ready for a full and busy week ahead! Christmas is quickly approaching...along with a new year. This makes me really excited! I have done a lot of thinking, hoping, wondering and praying as to what I would love this year ahead to be. It is also time to start thinking about my word for 2011. I have a few in mind, but not one that I am fully committed to just yet. In any case, I am so looking forward to the next few weeks as they are going to be so FULL of blessings, family, fun and PEACE. My wish for everyone out there is that they are able to be open to take a moment within their busy lives to think about and feel what brings them Peace. Fill your soul. Fill your heart. It truly is such a wonderful feeling.

My New Love.

So this is my new love. Like I need ANOTHER hobby, I know. However, I am truly addicted to making these fabric flowers and flower bib necklaces. Who knew a little bit of fabric, hot glue, with a touch of bling could be so fun and addicting! Some of these techniques I had learned back this August at Creative Escape, and others I have just had fun playing and experimenting. In other news, I am still finding it so hard to believe that it is almost December 2010. Where has the year gone. It seems just like minutes ago when it was January and I was in anticipation for the new year, what was to come and what I had envisioned. This year was definitely 'different' in ways that I have yet to try to understand. It was still a year full of many blessings, but it was just somehow 'different'. Or maybe I was just in a strange place. I know I did a lot of personal learning and growth this year, and maybe that is where I am still trying to come to terms and understand some things, but it just seemed odd to me. Now...for 2011...where to begin, where to start...what to foresee. Hmmm....maybe I will just focus on tomorrow for now. That seems like a good idea! I am definitely feeling so grateful and blessed these days. Blessed and thankful for my home, a healthy family, for food in my fridge, for the change to curl up with a good book every now and then, for hot tea, for cozy blankets, for hot baths, vanilla shower gel and good magazines. Grateful for the constant inspiration life brings me daily. After a week of having the flu...GRATEFUL for finally feeling normal and on my way again. Looking forward to a positive week ahead!

life update.

where has time been going? it seems like blogging has gone on the back burner for me, and that is something i really do not like. especially since i feel it is so important to document life's details as time goes by way too fast and things seem to be changing at such a rapid rate. so let's see if i can get on here more often! i used to blog so regularly and now...not sure what it is. sometimes though, a person just needs a moment to step back and regroup, and maybe that is where i am at. who knows. or maybe i am just not in a place where i am ready. i am finding it so hard to believe that the holiday season is almost upon us, and i remember so vividly the place i was at last year, this same time...man how things can change so quick. just when you think you are in the right place, on the right road...and then....change. this past year was definitely that for me. it was about taking risks and chances and learning that sometimes they don't always pay off. always a learning experience, but i just wish at times i did not feel like i had wasted a whole year in conflict and being unhappy. i always try to cherish each and every day...and there were a lot of days this past year where i was just simply swept up in confusion, sadness, depression, angst...it was hard. but things worked out ok in the end and more choices had to be made to get back to a place where i feel content, happy, balanced... a place that is ME. this past little while i have spent some time working and creating my creative escape 2010 scrapbook album. i am almost finished, just a few more details to include but i just LOVE how it has turned out. i used the beautiful parisian anthology portfolio binder, as well as papers, accents etc. to create my book. it was so much fun to work on it and relive all of the wonderful and amazing moments and memories that i had experienced there. that was probably one of my "healing" moments...after having such an unsettled year, being at CE was just what i needed to restore a lot of the faith and strength that i had lost and was struggling with getting back into my life. for that reason and so many others, this album will always be one of those books that tells such an amazing story and every time i will look and read it will always serve to heal my heart and inspire my soul.

what i do.

obsessed about creating, that is truly where my mind and heart has been for the last few weeks. it's been awesome, and i was even able to get some projects done! i truly could not imagine my life without creativity. it fuels everything else i do in a day...it is my source of energy, inspiration and drive. i cannot get enough. i have been thinking alot about fitting in, and where i feel that i do fit in. that one place i know is when i am in the creative zone, surrounded by other creative people who see the world the way i do. sometimes it can feel so isolating, in that others sometimes just do not get or understand the passion. but i guess that is ok. the ones that do understand make up for those that don't. ultimately it is about being happy, fulfilled from the inside out, and that is what creativity and living creatively does for me. it is a brand new month too....have a few things that i want to be working on, and am excited about getting into the holiday spirit and enjoying what is to come. even trying to get excited about snowfalls and cold weather...attitude is everything right?? i am really excited to just enjoy and be present in the holiday season...enjoy some baking, hot chocolate, photos, the buzz in the air. i am even trying to look forward to the shopping, which is not my favorite part of the season at all, but will try to keep it all in balance and not let that superficial part of the holiday season take away from the real magic of it all. so, looking forward to many things in the next coming weeks! also looking forward to Rhonna's 21 day challenge...hop to her blog to find out more. sounds amazing and her inspiration is enough to fill anyone's soul! i met her at creative escape and she is the cutest little thing, with the biggest spirit ever! so looking forward to her challenge and focusing my mental energy and becoming stronger, better and more present than ever! here is to a great month ahead!