From Chaos Comes Happiness

Oh, my friends . . . what a busy week it was. I've got lots of stories to update you on, and this time, I am going to do my very best to do just that! It's Sunday morning here . . . the house is still quite (yay!) . . . I just cropped all the photos from my camera . . . I have a full cup off coffee . . . and blogland is my oyster! I thought I would just sit and write as many blog posts as I can this morning. I have a list a mile long of all that I wanted to share on here. So this morning, I hope to get as many written as possible. With any luck, we'll have at least a week or two of some new material to ponder . . . YAY! Before we get into any deep thinking . . . I'll leave that for Tuesday or Wednesday, perhaps . . . I have to share our major weekend celebration with you. Drum roll . . . please . . . Because, my friends . . . I have . . . a TEN YEAR OLD!!! Yep. Katie Girl, Katherine Josephine, Katie-Potatie, (and all the other names I've given her through th...

So, I started a new hobby (as if I needed one other thing in my life). This one has lots of benefits . . . or so I'm told. It's called "Zentangle®", and my friends . . . I'm diggin' it! ;) I was introduced to tangling (or Zentangle®) a couple of years ago at The Creative Connection event I attended in Minneapolis. There I met Kass Hall, a fellow Hello Soul, Hello Business friend, and soon discovered she was in the process of publishing a book about the art of tangling. You can find her book, Zentangle Untangled: Inspiration and Prompts for Meditative Drawing , by clicking on the link. Kass has awesome energy about her . . . I could have listened to her for hours. My initial thought was this was sort of like a higher level of  doodling . . . and what's NOT to love about doodling? (I am a doodler from way back.) And while I realize there is so much more to the actual method than what I am aware of, I will say that it is a relaxing form of creativity,...

Do you ever wonder if birds have their own language? I mean . . . not the squawking "I'm hungry, get me a worm" kind of noises they make. I mean a full blown "don't come out of that bird house, cause this lady mowing the lawn is a nut job and will probably run you over if you land in her path" or "hey, see that newly washed shiny clean blue mini-van in the driveway? let's leave them a present right on their wind shield so they know we love them!" sort of language. I wonder about that. A lot. Did I tell you about my birdhouse? No? Well, allow me to digress . . . We had a garage sale last month. Nothing too fancy or big. Lots of the girls clothing that no longer fits and some DVD's and stuff. Whenever we have a garage sale, I usually let the extended family know, and if they have some items they'd like to sell, they are welcome to join me in the garage for the day with their table of goodies. This year, my brother-in-law came w...

My friends . . . I have a purpose. It's taken a while . . . to find it. It's been one of the longest and hardest struggle I've ever had, to be honest with you. When the company I worked for closed our Chicago office two years ago (yes . . . it's been two years next month . . . wow), I had no idea what the future would hold. For the first time in some 25 years, I did not have a time card to punch, a voice mail to check, or a meeting to run. For the first time . . . ever . . . I only had me, my husband, and my girls, to take care of. Yes, I had the support of an amazing husband who said, "don't worry . . . we'll be just fine," and I had the love of two little girls who said, "yay!! Mommy is home with us now!" But, while working through those feelings of actually losing my job . . . I knew that at some point I would need to open a new door. Start a new chapter. Begin a new story. The past two years have been . . . life changing . . ....

We went away for a few days . . . to sunny (and so so hot) Arizona. And there is nothing like renewing the soul a thousand miles away from reality. Nothing like getting away from the laundry, the chores, the worries. Nothing like closing your eyes and feeling the sun work it's magic on your soul. It was a beautiful trip. Swimming, laughter, a few good drinks, quality time with some dear dear friends, and being closer to Gods art. That's what the whole scenery of Arizona looks like to me . . . like God's very own Mixed Media piece. From cactus and desert to His own mountainous cathedrals, I spent the past few days reflecting and taking it all in. And it was . . . wonderful. I thought I'd share some pictures with you of our adventure. Some I've already shared on Instagram and/or Facebook, and some are from our digital camera. These are my very favorite photos from our trip . . . sigh . . . I miss it already . . . Arizona . . . it has to be one of my top...

So, I am renewing. Day by day. For those of you who read my last post, and those who commented with such love and support . . . I thank you. I am ok. I promise. Day by day. I've started, by spending more time outside. Getting out of the house, breathing in some fresh air (now that my allergies are more under control), getting away from the telephone and all the other things that give me anxiety and taking in the beautiful life around. I've gone on about four bike rides since my last post. Not very long ones. But long enough to close my eyes and feel the cool breeze on my face. Long enough to clear my mind and listen to the birds flying by. Long enough to get away from all the anxiety for a bit. I've also stopped eating bread. I'm trying. Again. Day by day. I had pasta last night  . . . couldn't help myself. But haven't had bread in a few days. That's a good thing. And, I'm taking pictures again . . . a lot of them. Right now, they are primarily...