a different season

actually, all in all, its been a different kind of year.  and now we are about to walk, hand in hand, into a new one.  its christmas eve and our little one is just as wide eyed as can be.  lol!  but that's ok.  i don't mind.  he is always so excited to put on his christmas jammies; we all are:)

as is every christmas eve the tv runs "a christmas story" for a full 24 hours.  i love it.  traditions.  i breathe a sigh knowing we are safe and sound and waiting for the big day; christmas.  the weather is not the same.  i've misplaced a precious stocking.  friends have given great suggestions for a stand-in.  each one made me smile.  it took the angst out of my heart.  so what if a stocking goes missing?

all of my family's favorite recipes from our house are finished in record time.  i look up thanking God for such a relief of not having to stay up all night long.  while daddy plays santa mama will be finishing a huge project for some very special people in our lives.  i suppose we have begun to hold on to each other tighter as each day goes by.  time seems too fast now.

i have so much to be thankful for.  prayer has become a conversation.  worries fall to the wayside.  family, books, paint, journaling.  making life more simple comes easy.  nothing has to be perfect.  i wish for very little these days.  my dreams have become reality.  i have friends that span the globe enriching my life even more.  i've learned so much in this year.  i have reached farther than i ever thought i would.

merry christmas.  

finally....

after all the writing, re-writes, and proof reading, its just a matter of time.  i'm so glad its done.  publishing is just like anything else...

hurry up and wait ;)

this is my family!

there is a story people...

collecting little mementos to prove her theory that this is a vale of tears & my advice is you damn well better stay out of her way

turning the leaf...

in so many words that is what i am doing.  i've pondered for so long.  i'm 50 with the most scrumptious 6 year old little boy who can maneuver thru a computer like there is no tomorrow and the best (and cutest) husband known to woman.  that being said, i've pondered long enough.

i've always been a crafter, a reader, a movie buff, lover of most furry four legged animals, and happiest at home.  a few years ago i learned the art of scrapbooking and have loved it.  my husband no longer receives cards for special occasions.  he now receives scrap pages and adores them.  however, my beloved scrapbook shoppe closed due to this horrid economy in which we live and i have had time to "ponder."  (i wonder how many more times i will say "ponder" in this post... hmmmm.)  anyway, i have found a new direction.  still in keeping with my love of scrapbooking i have found "mixed-media" and find it fascinating.  so many possibilities.  at this juncture let me say the gang from the scrapbook shoppe still exists and has found a place to come together and scrap.  there was no keeping us down nor giving up.  and, we've become closer, enjoying each other more and sharing our lives; looking forward to each new crop.  and we are talking 16 to 18 hour saturdays.  sounds like too much, right?  wrong!  we start with breakfast; the coffee, the donuts, then lunch out at a local fun restaurant, only to return to our scrapping that we have brought along with homemade yummies to get us thru the night.  it is all very much worth it.

so, as you may have noticed my bit of art on this blog.  i like it.  do you?  well, maybe.  however, its a start.  if you look close enough you will be surprised at what you will find within each piece.  and, maybe, realize where the name of each piece has come from.  either way, i'm liking it.  but, i have more.  i won't stop here.  meaning just this type of media/art.  this is what i have played with for some time; lets say 4 years.  yes i said 4 years.  it was on and off and something i wanted to "ponder."  i had to become brave enough to post it.

i've also begun journaling.  anything and everything.  i have bits and pieces of things to remember and write it all down.  i've gathered things to begin a new phase of journaling.  i will paint it.  i may draw it.  not just write it.  i will add to and take away.  this new journaling will be hand-held and loved.  a legacy should anyone happen upon it after i am gone; which i hope i won't be gone anytime too soon, of course, but you get my meaning.  i will continue my blogging with or without art.  it will depend upon the moment.  if i have a piece i want to share, i will.  if i have something to say, you will read it.  well, i hope you will read it.

but, along with my scrapping, art blogging, artful journaling, i have added something more.  i love to read.  and the genre is varied.  much like the weather; i don't care where you live, its gonna change.  so, i will read more now than i ever have.  i have ventured into reviewing books and am truly excited about this.  how many times have you picked up a book at your local bookstore or library turning to the back cover to read the reviews?  i do it every time and never have i given it a second thought as to who these people are that write these reviews.  however, it is what leads us to our decision of whether we do or don't read the book.  and now i know who these people are.

i am turning the leaf.