40 Days of Something Beautiful...

"Let us do something beautiful for God." -Mother Teresa

  The Artist's Way Basic Principle # 5
 

"Creativity is God's gift to us. 

Using our creativity is our gift back to God."  

Let me do something creative everyday for 40 days.
Let me walk each day, enjoying the beautiful.
Let me capture the beautiful with the camera. 
Let me create something out of nothing.
Nothing is too small, too simple, or too silly.
Let me find 40 days of color.

"As I open myself to the divine creative energy which flows through me, I am both the prayer and its answer." -Blessings, Julia Cameron

I also decided to give up Diet Coke for the 40 days of Lent. 
And then I pull up behind this truck...

"Every day's a start of something beautiful."
All We Are - Matt Nathanson ♫

Dream With Me... my graceful bee.

 Some time ago I wrote this post. 

     "how cool would it be to one day feature gracey's blog in this magazine?  remembering the day we sat together and began the adventure of creating it."
  

  COOL showed up in my inbox one November evening, with an email from the editor of Stampington magazine, wanting to know if Grace and I would like to write an article to be published in their winter issue of Create with Me.

  If only words could capture the excitement Grace and I felt.  Grace skipped off to bed beaming.  I thought I'd pee my pants.  They needed the article in four days!  It's one thing to dream, but when the dream is right in front of you, it's another thing to catch it.

  The next morning I found my inspiration in this treasure scribbled in Grace's bedside notebook. 

“My blog is a canvas to my thoughts.

It is my very own art museum,

showing the world what I have. 

It is memories and ideas that others can relate to and cherish.

I have notebooks scattered around my room,

 page after page filled with my mind’s undiscovered words. 

My blog is a new page to my notebook.”

 And the magazine arrives in the mail!

And we make a trip to Barnes & Noble to see it on the newsstand for ourselves...

 

Yay!!!

- Colors, April Smith and the Great Picture Show ♫

New Green shoes...

Love these green shoes!  $7.98 at Ross's.  I have no idea why I had to have them.  They look like something out of Christmas Whoville.  So ugly they are cute? My daughters beg to differ.  :)

I have a friend who is fascinated with color therapy.  Earlier this year I got the dreaded call back...breast cyst found on my mammogram.  All is well.  But I freaked out a bit.  I pulled a healing book off my shelf and searched "problems with breasts"..."over-mothering, over-protection"...  ugh... I had been a complete mess with letting go of daughter number one.  My color therapy friend said to surround myself with the color green...which symbolizes nourishment and growth.  I put a plant by the kitchen sink.  I ate on green dishes.  I bought a green pillow.  I drank green tea.  I wore my daughter's green bracelet.  I did everything but eat green eggs and ham.  I focused on the color green as a reminder for me to pray, asking God to help me let go and embrace the "what's next". 

Fast forward...all is well.  The cyst has been aspirated.  And my girl is doing well at college.  I miss her, but she came home from Christmas break a sweet woman.  We both grew.  I can see now that I was holding on too tight while she was trying to pull away.  Anyway, today I put on my new green velvet shoes and I feel rich.  They sum up my year.  

I let go and I'm okay.

-New Shoes, Paolo Nutini ♫