life, enthusiastic

How did it get to be October?  And 2015, no less??  What just happened??

I feel like it was just new year’s, and now the year is 10/12’s of the way over.  A good time to check in, check up & check out all the great things that have been happening in my life.  I don’t reserve reflection for January, I like to dedicate random time throughout the year.  What a crazy year full of fun times.  Yes, and very real times, too.  Some disappointment, heartbreak, realization, bold moves, progress on several fronts.

I have been quiet, but not giving up for a second!!!!  More later!!!

ain’t that the truth.  and thank goodness.

Don’t we all think that the girl next to us has the perfect life, the perfect hair, the perfect lipstick??  Or that our neighbors/friends/coworkers/siblings have it all–  Plus some??  But Have you ever had the shock to find out that supermodel with the gorgeous legs has problems too?? Sometimes worse than us.  Maybe that’s when we start to realize that she’s looking at us in exactly the same way.   Thinking, wow, what I would give for a peaches & cream complexion.  Wow, I wish I had her courage.  Or her breasts.  Or her talent.  Or her freckles.  I wish I had her family.  How could anything be wrong with her life?  But wow.   She has split ends, too, a broken family, money troubles.  She breaks things, loses things and forgets things.  She is just like me.  Beautiful & perfect & flawed.  There is no reason to envy.  Or pity.  Feeling sorry for the short girl??  Don’t.  She is a wickedly talented artist.  She has great relationships all around her.  She is rocking her flats and loving her life.  Which is what you should be doing instead of worrying about other people.   I think we can all take a moment to be thankful for what we have, and to appreciate how amazing diversity is.  To consider the lives of others in a thoughtful way, and then to leave them alone.  To have compassion.

As if washboard abs would solve all your problems in much the same way that we think a new pair of shoes will.   I’m still waiting, but no longer hoping.

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i just had to share!!!  i’m so excited to host my first Etsy shop update!  i’ve always sold my art locally, but this is the first time for an online audience.  please check it out, and if you like it, share with your friends.  thanks for considering!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/carlarenee

one thing you can say about me, is that i don’t give up.  it takes me absolutely eons to make these big decisions, but once they’re made, it’s a done deal.  we all know that slow and steady wins the race.  ok.  but what about impatience? where the h-e-double toothpicks does it fit in??  is it a gift or a curse??  does it inspire us more than frustrate us??  does it motivate more than hinder???

right now, it’s a motivating curse.  i have so many projects and goals right now, i’ve got something at every stage.  but i want instant gratification.  i want it all done right now, ok???  thanks.  if forgiveness is the ‘f’ word, then patience is a real ‘pisser’.   ((deep breath)). i don’t take enough time to celebrate each goal reached, each mountain climbed, each sweet success no matter how small.  i get it out of the way, and move on to the next one.  it doesn’t feel like an accomplishment to get 24 items checked off your list when you really have 32 tasks.   but why not???  my gosh, celebrate more.  lesson:  celebrate & bask in it.  for me, some days, it’s a major accomplishment to get up & get dressed.  i need to honor that fact.

today.  i am celebrating.  i got up this morning, fed the dog & myself, and got busy & marked one very big task off my list.  now i am celebrating with ice tea.  at the coffeeshop.  with my old friend, blue-haired jen.  silently working together on projects. my one task will have a snowball effect & inspire scores of other tasks.

i read a lot.  i devour articles and ‘news’ stories, most of which does not qualify as news in any way, shape or form.  lots of propaganda.  i have been admiring bits of encouragement for women sprouting up these days.  here are 3 of my recent favorites.
1. https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/iwillwhatiwant
2. http://www.takepart.com/video/2015/01/18/this-girl-can
3. https://showyou.com/…/as-a-male-this-is-the-first-tampon-co…

happy new year, everyone!!!  last year, my new year’s post was one of my first on this blog.  i was still stretching my fingers and finding my blog voice.  it was scary. and here, tonight, i am ready to embark on blog year two.

tonight, on the 4th day of the new year, i find myself wanting to ask, How Was YOUR Year??  what were your highs & lows.??  did you have highs, and how high were they??  were they everything you wanted and expected??  did you wait for them to happen or did you make them happen??  have you thought about your lows??  so much of what i’ve been reading lately asks you to find beauty & answers in the hard stuff.  your lows might help you identify someone to thank for a hard lesson learned, or find room for improvement in your own life.  or maybe your lows will help you practice forgiveness.   one of the things i appreciate about the new year, is that it brings me to reflection.  i love to consider the past year- my successes and failures.  they are what make me ME!!!  i already scribbled out my blessings, highs and lows & my great accomplishments for 2014.  this process of mine helps me identify what is most important to me for 2015.   and yes, i’ve got that scribbled along somewhere as well.

i’m going to make 2015 happen for me.

best,

Carla

satchel: series I

i don’t know if i told you, but i told a good friend recently, that it’s time to up the ante.   i do consider myself an artist, but if someone were to ask, i wouldn’t know what to tell them.  i am an artist.  but what is my medium??  i know artists can have more than one, but i wanted 1.  as in, 1 definitely.  i think i should take clues from my favorite shops.  i’ve always had a crush on the paper arts.  the lighthearted ones.  the beautiful cards, prints and calendars.  oooh, the papers and the fonts.  (what kind of geek am i?)  i dream about letterpress and ink.  but then there are the fabrics.  if i could just design & sew all day, my life would be complete (insert theme music with butterflies).  

when i was rebuilding my life, i decided to openly acknowledge and embrace my creative need and allocate about 1/3 of my living space to these pursuits.  i have a beautiful studio, but the accoutrements of all my media are taking up most of the space, i barely have room to work.  i have paints, brushes, thread, stickers, a scanner, sewing machines (yes plural, i think there are 6 or 7 in my immediate family), a slide projector, needles, tacky glue, glitter, beads, cutting boards, x-acto knives, hammers, chisels, stamps and inkpads.  i can do some of most, and that might be the extent.  i want to do all of some, instead.  my first love is textiles, my second, paper.  

i finally told my friend that my sewing was moving from downright crafty to gorgeous & classy.  i upped the ante.  i am progressing from giving all my work as gifts (which is rewarding & great) to receiving gifts of my work. which is not to say i will sell it all or no longer give it away.  but i will no longer devalue myself via my work.  part of my transformation will include more & different giving of myself and my gifts, and also asking for & accepting gifts in return.  keep an eye on my etsy shop in the coming months.  i’ll also let you know when i post new items!!!

with blessings,     carla