SWEET ANTICIPATION

I am like a kid waiting for Santa Claus.  Counting the days... which I swear are dragging by like

a sludge of mud. 15 days till my girls fly in. wahooo!!!!

(pause here for happy dance!)

Thanks to my trusty art journaling I can vent the lack of patience, plus keeping busy with work and ART.  And spring is always a busy time in our yard, house, etc.  It has been absolutely delightful weather and of course, they are calling for 6-12 inches of snow tonight.  When you live in the mtns, this is just mother nature showing you she can.  I am amazed at how quickly the piles of snow around our house have vanished in a few short weeks.  I can look out back on the patio and it is all gone.  Thank you SUN!

We need one good snow storm after the girls arrive.. so little Emalie can witness SNOW!  Her first ever.

That will be so magical to witness.  Must remember to keep my camera always handy.  I am

embracing this visit and know this will be a lifetime gift that I will always cherish.

But for

NOW

I must ARTFULLY create my day!

JOURNAL PAGE

I have been sad deep down for a long time.  I know a lot of my sadness comes from losing Dad.  I miss him so much.  I also know I am worrying about a myrid of things that really I have so little effect with.  My core being is happy.  I am blessed by that.  But there seems to be a chipping away that has been going on for a while.  Mostly I ignore and carry on.  But I think this winter I have opened some doors and allowed the dark to come through.  Not to sulk, just be.

But with the promise of spring, and my decision to step up my focus, I am feeling hope and yes, happiness.

I am feeling the leaves starting to bud and the birds in my heart are singing again. 

Art does this for me.  And in my journal, I find the visual work lifting my soul up.  And I embrace the warmth

of the Universe. 

NOW

I step into the light and let it fill the dark places.

14 REPURPOSED

 I am reaching a milestone for me. Like a troll under the bridge, sometimes my past sticks it's ugly head up
and spouts off reminding me of my demons from long ago.  The number 14 has been a tripping stone for me in the past.  So when I flipped the calendar this month and saw that I will be with Dan for 14 years, it subconsciously started a dark cloud inside me that came out in a dream.  The dream was very disturbing until I started to piece it apart and really looked at the meaning. I have never been in a relationship that lasted more than 14 years.  That of course, has nothing to do with my current relationship which is so wonderful, I know that logically.  But down in the dungeon of darkness, the troll was whispering to me, here's the expiration date: 14. 
  My old self, would of taken the worst possible outlook and ran with it.  My new self.. the mature, wise
and grounded self.. decided to work  out the dream in my journal.  And what do you know?  The goodness
came through bold and strong.  So I quietly, with a smile, took my broom and dustpan and swept up the
nagging cruel doom-filled words from that old ugly troll, and dumped them into the trash.  And like a seed planted in a new garden, 14 has now become a good number for me. 
  Why am I telling you this?  Mostly because I want to give my new outlook power by exposing it to the world and to sing the praises about art journaling.  This kind of "house cleaning" works so well.  It's powerful.
And it's all available to us if we only do it.  My pal Sheri Gaynor teaches this and to any of you who are looking for insight, her method of  "awakening" is truly life changing.  And the art part is really only a tool used to dig out the information we are looking for.  It resonates so well for me because I am a very visual person.
There is no planning to this journaling.  You just jump in and let the muse carry you and the message just
appears as if by magic.  Oh, look.  It was inside of me all along.  I just needed to unearth the buried treasure.
 so 14 is now my treasured number.  ta-da...