From Chaos Comes Happiness

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...

"         I  took a drive through the forest preserves near my house today . . . It was cloudy - a grayish overcast outside - but in these woods, you couldn't tell. The changing colors were still so present, clouds and all. And only 5 minutes into my ride . . . I could feel that we are in middle of a great change in seasons. And I loved that today. It was just me . . . and the crickets chirping, the birds tweeting, the small little stream trickling, and the distant train whistles blowing. And it was beautiful.           I like to drive through here every few weeks. Sometimes I get out and walk for a while, alone . . . but not very often. I must have seen too many SVU crime shows to be comfortable in the woods by myself. But I still love being there.  Sometimes I get upset when I see a car pull up behind me. In my moments of peace, I find myself feeling hurried along and bothered, and usually pull off to the side so the other vi...

                         I could hear the squeak of the storm door back and forth. "Mommy, come on! " Ella said, as she stood holding the screen door open for me. She was ever-so-impatient as I stopped on our walkway to gaze at the beautiful scene above me. "Give me a minute, honey," I told her. "I want to take a quick picture of the sky. Did you see how it looks this morning?" Katie joined 5th grade band this year, so two days a week we have to get up extra early and drive her to our local junior high, where the whole band gathers for a lesson before school. She is learning the clarinet, and I am so happy she has decided to participate. I am so proud of her. I don't mind getting out of the house early and driving her. Getting an early start on these days often gives me the opportunity to catch a glimpse of some amazing sunrises, like today.  Ella closed the screen door, walked back to where I was...

        It's been 48,960 minutes since I've written on my blog.  48,960. Wow.  That's just about 34 days. Never before (since starting this blog way   back  in 2009, that is) have I been away for so long.  But I needed it.  I  think I've needed it for a longtime.  And it was pretty darn good . . . this little break of mine. " What have you done in that time?" you ask?  Well, I've been to Italy. To Rome and the Amalfi Coast, that is. I've toured the Vatican, wept, and lit a candle at St. Peter's Basilica. I've eaten some of the best pasta I have ever had in my life. I saw the Mediterranean Sea, and drank the most amazing limoncello. I've visited Pompeii and took a good long look at Mount Vesuvius. I had the trip of a life time . . . . truly one I could have only dreamt of. Then I came home and worked really hard on my art - in preparation for a craft show at the end of the September. I painted, cut, glued, stamped and 'po...

                              So . . . in less than 20 hours, I will be boarding a plane and heading to Rome, Italy, where I will officially be able to cross off number 12 from my bucket list.  Number 12 reads "Travel to Italy", in case you were wondering. It's right before 13, "Color my hair bright red like Lucille Ball, just once" and right after 11, "Run a 5k". I'm kind of glad I haven't had the nerve to do number 13 yet. I am not sure I'm cut out to be a red head, but the thought always lingers each time a walk down the hair color isle at Target. And while each New Years Resolution has me thinking about number 11,  I'm not quite there yet either. So I'm glad I am trying number 12 first.  Yes, Italy it is.  It's about 12:49 am the night before I leave, and I find myself sitting here typing this post at my kitchen table. I went to bed at 11 pm, but tossed and turned for over an hour . . . ...

          My girls start school tomorrow. Katie will begin 5th grade and Ella is starting 1st.  And I am . . . ecstatic.  I'm so ecstatic, that I almost feel guilty about it.  I love my girls dearly . . . and if you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you know how very much that statement is true.  But my friends . . . I cannot wait for them to begin school this year.  We have had an incredibly wonderful summer full of adventures and laughter and fun. We've traveled from almost one side of our wonderful country to the other. We've volunteered and spread good cheer. We swam, we danced, we slept over, we picked cherries and blueberries, we walked, we gardened, we laughed, we fed, we ate, we celebrated, and we played just about as hard as anyone could. And now, this momma is desperate to get a little normalcy back to her days.  With the small exception of the art classes I taught - I've hardly painted the whole summer long. A...

        I have a certain table covering I use when creating.    It's vinyl and strong and easy to wipe down. I bought it years ago at Kohl's, I believe. I originally bought it for a family gathering in the spring/summer season. But at some point, I must have put it out for a crafting day and gotten a splash of paint on it. Since then, it has become my official crafting table cloth.  And it makes me super happy. The minute I pull it out, I am reminded of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of things created on its very surface.  I am reminded of the moments of pure bliss I've experienced when I am in that major creative mode.  I see the splashes I have made on it, and splashes the girls have made, too.  It certainly has a few story to tell. Like when I discovered who the artist was inside of me, and discovered the kinds of art I wanted to make.  Or like the moment when Ella painted a mustache on her face.  This weekend, I pulled it out...