From Chaos Comes Happiness

I have been inspired since my last post to "Find the Joy", and wanted to hop in today and tell you about this journey and what I am doing. I have to tell you . . . I can already feel the difference within myself. In two short days, I am already taking more time to stop and be - stop and focus - stop and breath. All of it. The goal, and what my plan is . . . is to post photos of items and moments each and every day when I have FOUND the JOY. My goal is to capture (at least) 100 moments. They will be little things . . . big things . . . anything that has helped me stop the downward spiral that has been happening in my head and has helped me feel joy.   If you want to follow my journey each day - follow me on Instagram here  (side note: you have to have an Instagram account in order to access my Instagram.)  I will also be posting a weekly recap here on the blog.  I am using the hashtag #100JOYFCCH  .  .  . (the FCCH stands for the name of thi...

                   I love when the Universe calls, you know? When you find yourself almost to the breaking point with thoughts of " life is rough and people can be pretty cruel and there is no way that I can make a difference"  - and then suddenly, a change. When the Universe reminds you of what matters. That yes, even in the simplest of ways, you can make a difference.  Yes, I love when that happens.  And this week, the Universe called me. Twice .  Most of you know that I went back into the work force two months ago - starting a new job at a pediatricians office on December 1st actually. Back in healthcare - the field that I have worked in for almost 25 years. It is a great fit for me (three days a week), and allows me enough flexibility that I can still have plenty of time to live out my creative dreams - and (most importantly) bring additional funds to our home on a regular basis.  Something is different abo...

                  I have an amazing husband.  Have I told you that before?   I don't want to gloat, or sound like I am bragging. I am not. I am just recognizing one of my biggest blessings, and sharing it with you today. My husband. He is pretty awesome.  In the past few months, he has been top notch.  And sometimes I forget to tell him that.  Because, I guess, the expectation is for him to be this ' Superman '. Not only for me, but for everyone else.  Sometimes, I forget that he is real. Just like you and me.  Sometimes, I forget that he has pressures and stresses - unlike those that I can relate to. He has that "manly" responsibility to care for all four of us - for our home, to pay our bills, provide . . . all those things. Even though he knows we are in this ' together ' - that we work ' together ' - I know he carries the load.  Yes, sometimes I forget that he really has the weight of the world on h...

It's so strange how the universe works. Like, CRAZY strange. And I love it. Every stinking bit of it. Really. The good, and the bad parts of it. My friends . . . I got the job. The job I was telling you about earlier in the week. The for real 'wake up and go to an office' sort of job. The job that will deposit funds into my bank account every two weeks (insert cheer of ' yay !' here). The job that will help ignite some old skills, dust of some insurance knowledge, and allow me to exceed in a field that I know I can handle. Yes, I got the job. But back to the universe. I love it. A few years ago, for those of you who may not be familiar with my story, I worked in health care - in health insurance, specifically. I have actually held a job in health care, in one way or another, since I was 16. And since I am not one to hide my age . . . that was about 27 years ago. I did well in health care - working my way up from one position to another, and settli...

         It's been a busy, and chaotic couple of days here in our house.  Busy with school activities, Girl Scouts, swimming, broken lawn mowers, doctor visits for coughs that just won't quite, business trips for daddy, art classes for mommy, and a whole bunch of other things that I have already filed in that 'short term memory' box days ago.  In the midst of all of that, I've been trying my best to be a good mom. You know, the kind who stops what she is focused on when she has a moody 6th grader who needs some love. Or the kind who stops cooking dinner and plays school with her 2nd grader when she needs to.  You know, that good kind of mom.  I am not always that kind of mom, though. Because sometimes . . . I just . . . forget.  I forget that it is hard to be 11 and 7. It really, really is. It's hard when your body is changing, when your emotions are going up and down and you can't even begin to understa...

I like to start my mornings sitting right here at my kitchen table, with a fresh, hot cup of coffee, and our backyard.       My red cardinal whirlie-gig that the girls bought for me.                   Our little blow up pool.                            The garden, and our sunflowers.                                     Sigh. This is my happy place. . . when the house is quiet, and the sunshine is just waking up the world outside. These are also the colors that make me happy. Lately, I can't get enough of them . . . I realized today, these are the colors of our backyard. Most mornings, I sit and watch my neighbor as he makes his way to his garden (which is right on the other side of the fence from ours.) He is a meticulous gardener, with his organiza...

We're back from beautiful Arizona, well rested and sun kissed. Every time I visit Arizona, I am reminded of the beauty of the state. Katie fell absolutely in love with it this trip, and spent much of our vacation asking if we could move (permanently) there. I've been thinking a lot about making a permanent move for our family lately . . . we are pretty fortunate in Phil's job that it would be a relatively easy transition for him to relocate to a different place. Arizona might not be such a bad place to call home . . . hmmmm . . . wouldn't that be exciting?!? But, until then . . . we are back in the mid-west. Chicago welcomed us home with gray skies and rain (a lot of it). Those last few "April showers" have stayed true to their words, and it's been so icky the last few days. It's ok, though . . . because there is always art. And that makes it pretty awesome. I just finished up four weeks straight of art classes for the two park districts I am tea...

I can't believe I haven't written in a month. One month. One complete and entire month. Augh. As I've said many times before, I'm multi-creatively-challenged. I swear, I need to write a book just on that concept alone. However in doing that, I fear it would bring yet another absence of some other creative task. I started the year off so strong here in blogland, but somewhere got lost this past month. In between starting a new health regimen, Phil's really crazy busy travel schedule, a craft fair, and a whole desire to get in touch with myself (again . . . ), my blog fell to the wayside. Something always gives. Sniff. Sniff. My sister is always telling me to stop apologizing for things (I am a frequent "I'm sorry" girl). Actually, she yells at me. "STOP SAYING YOU'RE SORRY!!!!" she'll demand, when I truly deep in my heart express apologies to people for what they are expressing. "STOP IT!!" She gets pissed at me. It m...

There are moments in this life when I feel the breath actually come out of my body. When I gasp, and have to inhale deeply, then hold it for a few seconds as the air fills my soul. Moments when I stop, FOCUS, and actually feel my place in the universe. Moments when I am not bothered by the hustle and bustle and chaos of life around me. Moments when I can stop it all . . . and just . . . BE. As part of my "Word of the Year", FOCUS , I am doing a great deal of that lately. These moments, the ones that take my breath away, are so important right now. They are exactly what I need. Moments like . . .  . . . when I am driving down my favorite road and I look at the beauty around me. Even in freezing temperatures and on cloudy days, the snow covered trees looked painted on by the angels in heaven, and it took my breath away. What a beautiful world.         . . . when I catch a tender moment between a man and his daughters, it takes my breath...

I made a new friend last week. It's exciting . . . the whole idea of making new friends. A short while ago, I came to some sort of understanding with the universe that I was just done with the 'making new friends' stage of life. I mean, I am constantly meeting new art friends online through various groups I am involved in . . . but a true face to face " NEW FRIEND "? I thought I was done. I am no longer in the business world and coming into contact with new people that way. And surprising as it may be . . . the Target check out lady and I have never gone for coffee (yet). ;) It's true . . . most of my time right now is spent on my daughters. Sure, I met new parents regularly as I drive my girls to and from different activities. But parent friends are very different from the ol'fashioned kind of "we have lots in common and can fill up an hour talking non-stop" friends. But last week . . . I made a new one. A new friend . And it's ki...

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...

I took the girls for Chinese food last Saturday. Phil Guy is a traveling fool these days (he's on week 4 of eight weeks of having some sort of business trip somewhere - but yes, we are blessed!)  When he is gone, I love to take the girls out for special dinners here or there. Chinese is one of them. We go to a nearby restaurant called "Mo's 3" (yes, it is the third one.) We have gotten to know the owner, Jess, and the minute we walk in - she treats us like queens. She brings the girls the same drink each and every time - a strawberry fruit smoothie - without even asking. And they use these awesome HUGE and bright colored straws that the girls LOVE. It's a special place for us. They do a wonderful take-out business, but the restaurant is often empty when we are there. It makes me worry for them, but I do enjoy having the place to ourselves. At the end of the meal, Jess brings me the bill on a tray, stacked with our fortune cookies. It's normal pra...