guess who's back? back again...

yep...it's me...

i'm still alive and making my way back into the world of blogging and well, the world.  let's just say that 2024 was not my best look.  i was pretty agoraphobic there for a while, but i was able to get some help and am feeling much, much better.

anyhoo... here are a couple of pictures from the end of 2024 (ie: yesterday) and the first day of 2025. 

Death by Chocolate Cheesecake my sister-in-law and i made yesterday. 

Ours isn't very pretty, but it's only our second ever attempt at a cheesecake, so.  Click the link above if you want to see what it is really supposed to look like and get the recipe.

ps...it is soooooooo good!!  

 

new year's day sunset...

I laughed when i got to my blog and saw that the last post was also a sunset, but new year's eve.

that's all for now...i've really missed being here and missed reading all the blogs that i follow/followed.  i wonder who's still here in bloglandia.

happy new year to you and i hope that this year will bring peace, love and hope into our lives.

love & kisses & magical wishes...

~*~

ps...anyone else have "Houdini" in their head after reading the title of this post?  :-)

word of the year...

happy new year, my dears...

here we are, ready to move on from 2020 and explore the new calendar year.

my word of the year for 2021 came to me during a session of morning pages back in october.  i immediately thought it was perfect.  but, of course, as is typical with me, i started to overthink it.  i searched for a word that was similar and might work better. 

then i realized that i needed to stop second guessing myself.  it felt very important to listen and FOLLOW my intuition.

so, i did...

my word of the year for 2021 is ART.  

i'm scheduled to attend two art retreats this year.  this is highly unusual, but one is a reschedule from last year.  i am beyond hopeful that we will be in a position to attend in person events by the time they arrive.  One is in september and the other october. (fingers crossed...and toes and eyes and anything i can cross to let this happen!)

i also am participating in two year long art courses.  and there is another art retreat in my state that i'd like to attend.

so when the word art popped up as my word of the year, it fit.

above you can see, in the last photo, my handmade journal for my two online art courses (both with Effy Wild).  that will hold all my art related to anything effy.

the top photo is the last, i think, piece i did in my art journal from 2020.  i know i made that on the 15th of december and i don't think i did anymore art journaling after that. 

the middle photo shows my favorite night sky color combo.  i used them to create the painting on my planner/journal and art journal covers.

art...  i hope to make a lot of art.  not just the painting kind, but the stitching, knitting, cooking, writing, baking, exploring kind...

i'm looking forward to seeing what i create this year and how my arting grows and changes. and i hope to share that here with you.

now, tell me, did you chose a word for the year?   

thanks for being here and reading along...

love, kisses and magical wishes...

~*~ 

 

gratitude... a year in review...

 

hello, my dears...

the end of 2020 is here and for some it is already 2021.  i'm fairly certain there is not a person on the planet that is not happy to see this year end and a new one begin.  i know i am.  how about you?

i don't have a lot of photos to share in this post.  the top is how my art desk looks now.  i've spent some time this week getting it cleaned up and changing it up a bit.  now it is ready for the new year and new arting.

the second photo is of an art journal spread i did on the 14th.  i was feeling very, very bad.  a combination of a burgeoning migraine and depression and was trying to fight the pull of the well.  i wanted to paint, but i also just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for days.  i remembered something effy wild said about how even if you don't feel like it, come to the table.  so i did.  i was very happy i did and i loved how she turned out.  i chose 'choice' as the word at her throat because i made the choice to keep myself out of the well for that day.  and that was good.  and that was progress...

so...

my word for 2020 was gratitude.  i had a tendency to not be grateful for things that i should and i learned during 2019 that i had a lot to be grateful for.  i think it was a wise choice and it definitely had an impact.  i recognize it now, and acknowledge my gratitude every single day.  even in the middle of a migraine or while sinking to the bottom of the well, i am grateful.

the word that chose me for 2021 appeared back in october.  when it presented itself, i thought it was wonderful.  i'll share that tomorrow.

i meant to be here more the past few weeks.  but, like always, the holidays are difficult.  and, of course, this year, even worse.  i chose to not participate in our family holiday meal.  my sil had been exposed to the virus, through work and i just couldn't bring myself to take a chance. (she has since been tested several times and all have come back negative)

so, i stayed home.  i did cook part of the meal though, so that i could have some of it.  (i can't eat anything prepared by someone else, yet).

now i'm ready to enjoy the rest of the year: nachos for dinner and maybe a tiny sip of eggnog with the nog near to midnight and working on my 2021 planner.

tomorrow is a new start.  not a stop, not an end.  but a curve around the wheel of time.

i hope you have a had as wonderful a holiday season as possible and that the new year ahead brings you all the joy and happiness you deserve.

thank you for being here with me and reading along.

love, kisses & magical wishes...

~*~

new beginning...

I cannot believe this is the last day of 2015.  I, also, cannot believe I haven't been here in over a month.  I guess that art everyday and the NaBloPoMo challenges fell apart.  Well...

I've been meaning to get here for weeks and whenever I would sit to write, no words came, but when I was busy and couldn't get here, words flowed.  Doesn't it just figure...

I'm not going to do a retrospective, it hasn't been that great a year.  But I am going to share a few things I hope to have in 2016.

 I'd like to have more experimenting in the kitchen and creating healthier meals (yes, I know that is a picture of cookies and chocolate covered peanut butter crackers...)

I'd like more courage in creating art.  Playing with paint, texture, paper, clay...finding a rhythym and style of my own.

I'd like more time in the garden, more energy to play with plants and create a small oasis for myself.

 Yea, that is more kitchen treats...  ;-)

 And yes, I'm always wishing for snow...

 I'd like more beautiful sunrises and sunsets, more use of my camera, more yarn, more walking, more time with friends, more blog writing and more adventures.

I'd like courage to explore myself and all the things I want to do and/or learn.  (I'm taking a chance on myself and joining in with the Creative Everyday challenge.  My plan is to post once a week showing what creative things I did each day). 

I'm planning to sign up for 2016 Red Thread Retreat and am so looking forward to going.  

These are the things I'm hoping to find in 2016, but not everything.  Is there something you are focusing on for your 2016?  Do you have one thing or many that you want to work on?

I hope 2016 is a marvelously, magical year for each and every one of you!  Thank you for sticking with me and I look forward to visiting with you all in the new year (and getting caught up from what I've missed this month). 

love & blessings
~*~

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

New

 The new year is upon us.  I've started a new page in my health book with my goals for this coming year.  Health is the word I initially chose to be my focus for 2014 but I've since revised it to Healthy.  I've spent the past several years focusing on my health but not in a positive way.  I think Healthy lends itself to positivity, so there.

 I started planting my seeds for this new year last night.  I thought alot about what I hope to do and accomplish and be in 2014.  I experimented with a new way of journaling (video) and I watched an artist that I admire as she shared with us live how she creates a painting.  It was fascinating to watch. 

 I did my health check in this morning when I woke and have been conscious all day of what I'm eating and drinking.  I've spoken to the New Moon and set my intentions for the year deep in her soil.  Now I need to tend them with love all year long and see what grows.

My weekly planner is ready for the year with birthdays, anniversaries and feast days marked.  I have gesso on my fingers and on a canvas I'm re-working.  I have a list of things to pick up at the grocers tomorrow that I hope will help with some cravings.  Yes, I'm already having cravings.  They do say sugar is the hardest addiction to break.  Wish me luck!  

I'm craving hot cocoa.  I have milk and cocoa but the only sweetener I have is honey.  I'm not sure how that would work.  I might give it a go.  

I'm off to play with gesso and paint.  I hope you are having a wonderful day and that you have planted your seeds and are ready to help them grow.

blessings
~*~

ps...I think I've mentioned I'm going gluten and sugar free.  This is my last thing that I can think of to try to help relieve the pain of the chronic headaches.  If you are gluten and/or sugar free, I'd love to hear how you do it.  What type of sweeteners you use, recipes, etc.



 

a review

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December




I wish you a very Happy New Year. May you have all the happiness, joy, love, peace and prosperity you wish want.
blessings
~*~

A New Year... A New Blog

Welcome to my new blog. In keeping with starting a new year fresh, I decided I was ready to start a new blog. I'm probably going to leave my old one up, but this one is where I'll post. Why do I want to start a new blog? Well, I guess you could say I have decided to come out of the blog closet. :-)

I want to be myself and I've decided I can do that without hiding who I really am in blog land. When I first started blogging, I wasn't sure what I was doing, much less if I wanted to tell the story of who I am and risk it being found by people that know me in real life. So, I hid behind a pseudonym. Now that I've been blogging for a while, I've realized that I don't want to hide anymore. I am proud of who I am and what I like and am ready to share it with the world.

So, if you find my blog and discover that you know me in real life, it is up to you to read on or not. Remember, this is for me, not for you and if you don't like what I have to say, you can stop reading anytime.

In my new blog I'll post about my everyday life, my passions and well, my favorite things. Hopefully you will find something here that makes you laugh, smile or is useful in some way. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!