Generosity of Spirit

I've got some awesome new products in the works and I really could stand to blog about them.  But, I have another topic just bubbling up within me that makes it hard to focus on my creativity at the moment.  And that topic is generosity of spirit. 

8x10 Art Print from Pennywishes

It may be the crisp, fresh air that is all around me.  Or it may be that a part of me feels the gearing up for the holiday season.  It could even be that I've been fleshing out kindness as a concept in many parts of my life lately.  

No matter, generosity of spirit is in the air all around me and I'm becoming obsessed with it.  I want to bake people cookies and leave them on their doorstep anonymously.  I have an absolute itch to encourage people to the degree that they want to run right out and conquer the world.  I crave heartfelt, joy moments in relationships with those that I appreciate, the kind that are featured at the crescendo of a great movie.  

I also want to keep myself thankful.  In a time where gut wrenching things are seen in the news and heart breaking things happen to those we know, I want exude a spirit of appreciation for those things that are good all around me.  And it is my experience that thankfulness is a very powerful tool in our everyday lives.  It doesn't ward off bad things from happening to you, but it secures your ability to be get up and keep going when they do.  Because your heart is generous in it's appreciation, you know how truly blessed you are.  And that revelation can carry you through anything that life could hurl your way...

Grace = New Inspiration

Even before Grace was born, I began dreaming up my own take of whimsical baby clothes, toys, gear, and decor.  Now that she is here, there is very little time to create such things.  Three months after she was born, I finally got around to making her ribbon mobile that hangs above her crib.  And really, I can mostly thank my mom for the hard labor she donated on the project once the design was finalized by yours truly.  

So here is my newest inspiration: baby mobiles!  The ones shown here are 6.5" in diameter and they are going to be the minis.  As you can see, it is perfect over the changing table to keep curious little eyes busy while momma refreshes baby's bottom.  


What's the location in your nursery that poses the biggest challenge for entertaining baby?

Cloudy Sky Emotions

Its overcast and dreary outside today. Days like these are usually a refreshing change compared to overly sweltering late summer temperatures. But today, the reprieve is additionally welcome because I'm in a moment of self discovery that mirrors the somber state of the weather outside.

I'll be honest.  I'm feeling cloudy and even a touch misty eyed.  It seems that life has gone and gotten the best of me this foggy Monday.  I'm pretty confused and fairly unsure of how exactly to pick myself up again right now.  And yet, a flurry of hope wells up in my heart this morning.  I won't lie; a piece of me is quite annoyed by this ever-present comfort.  For I am disappointed and I am let down.  I want, in my frustration, to ignore that peace that sets a hurt heart at rest.

But as sure as the promise of the clouds eventually parting and the sun coming back out to shine its brightness, an overwhelming part of me cannot settle into disdain, distrust, and disregard for a higher truth.  Because the sun will come back out and bits of life will make sense again.  And except for the rare occasion, it usually takes a cloudy day to have access to the crisp smelling, refreshing rain...

The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream and how you handle disappointment along the way.  ~ Robert Kiyosaki

Floating in the Clouds - 3D wall art from goshandgolly

All to myself

I've finally stolen away 30 minutes to sit and tap away at the keyboard.  Upon warming up my coffee for the umpteenth time in preparation of late afternoon blogging, I've been trying to decide what would be more therapeutic.  Should I simply ramble about the joys of the baby fashion show because Grace's diapers soaked through again?  Maybe I could use cyberspace as a platform to psyche myself up to create some new things for the first time in months...  Is 30 minutes anywhere near enough time to locate, dig up, and craft something truly meaningful and hugely profound in my awkward life right now? 

The latter would clearly be the best use of my time if I'm trying to maintain my sanity.  But, I don't know that I'm up for such a challenge.  Alas, that is the direction with which this blog entry is obviously veering.  That being said, ready... set... go!

In reflection of the many trials and tribulations that our family has had with that beautiful thing called breastfeeding, I've come to a conclusion or two about life in general.  First, I'm realizing more and more that the best thing for you is often nowhere near the easiest thing for you.  Breastfeeding is clearly the best thing for my baby as a myriad of studies have shown, but no one really lets a first time mom in on how truly trying its going to be.

Of course and like many other things in my life, had I known, I might not have possessed the courage to give it a whirl.  As if a whirl is really what I've given it.  That's not it at all.  Rather, I've given my commitment to it because I know the long term, big picture benefits.  As with much of life, we know the end result - a healthy, happy, person.  Still, the journey of infusing a high road concept into everyday life is also, in most cases, the road less traveled for a reason.

And with breastfeeding, I have witnessed the reasons.  There are plenty in my own life and I've heard many more come out of the mouths of friends, acquaintances, and strangers.  As not to delve too, too much into the intricacies of the female body, suffice it to say that it takes a strong family to stay committed to it.  I say family because the skill that is breastfeeding is a community effort if only within the community of one's home. 

And like life, I appreciate those around me that go before us.  I commend those that pass on both their defeats and their triumphs for the better good.  I thank those that see the everyday from a higher perspective, one that encourages and imparts the essence of life into others.

Because, really, those acts, those gestures, those people are the ones that make the journey worthwhile. 

Art by redletterwords

When EVERYTHING goes wrong

You know the days I'm talking about.  Its the day that everything goes wrong.  Everything.  I'm on the front end of one of those days now.  It's only 10AM and an observer would probably be surprised about how much hasn't gone right in the mere 2 hours that I've been awake today. 

The internet won't work at our house the day I decide that I'm going to buckle down and spend a few hours on the work at home project I've been neglecting since basically November.  This may or may not be because we forgot to pay our wireless bill that was due yesterday.  That, of course, caused a little rift between me and my favorite husband but we'll leave the details out of that event.  So I decide to be full of perseverence and head to the neighborhood coffee shop.  After circling the block twice due to a strange and very unclearly marked maze of construction, I finally happen upon a parking space.  I get to the counter and realize that I forgot my stamp card that entitled me to my free tall coffee today.  That free coffee could have been the little thing that changed the course of my day for the better.  Alas, it will have to be the redemption of the day some other time.  Then after committing about 5 mintues to connecting, unconnecting, and restarting my laptop, I find out from the cashier that their internet isn't working either.  Must be a local thing. 

So here I am now.  Tapping away my thoughts because I'm tempted to either be really frustrated or really amused at my morning.  Husband and I have been talking for days about this Monday morning; starting freshly focused and fully organized in the way we spend our time.  So after much talk, this ironic crescendo is not quite what I was hoping for as the jumpstart of my week.  I was hoping that things would go according to plan and that I'd be hugely productive in the ways I'd intended on being. 

As fate would have it, my plan was derailed.  My day was detoured due to construction within the fibers of life.  I could be annoyed that I've wasted a perfectly good morning with a ton of almosts.  And honestly, part of me is tempted to do so.  But, I have a secret motive that is swaying my emotions otherwise.  In a very odd way, a piece of me revels in the absurdity of a typical Monday morning laying to waste. 

You see, the frustrations of life offer me a unique opportunity if I am prepared to acknowledge them without pretense.  In these moments, I have the chance to look beyond my own intents and see a larger picture within the world around me.  Because really, me not starting my work at 10am will not cause me to be unable to do so tomorrow.  Unless of course, I give in to the frustration of today and haphazardly deem what didn't work today as unworkable tomorrow as well.  Or if I settle into the half truth that says the longer it doesn't happen the more likely it will continue to not happen. 

But, I am a believer of second chances.  I am an acknowledger of new mercies every morning.  I am a fan of the idea that failures = practice and success is inevitable if you practice long enough.  I'll be honest though.  This concept isn't necessarily my credo.  It isn't always the norm for my everyday life.  I am not necessarily a natural at cheerfulness & unending good spirits.  This perspective is something I am working out in my life.  Its a tool that I sometimes choose to employ and other times stubbornly do not. 

I like to think about this optimism as a wave of goodness that washes over me.  When it does, I get to make a choice.  I can choose to embrace the joy of something bigger than me or I can default to irresponsibly and self indulgently pushing a moment aside that has the opportunity to change me and my character.  Because I have a very real responsibility to be a better person than I am and there is always something in me that can be purer than it is.  This responsibility, both to myself and to those around me, is a commission that lights up a dark world and brightens a stormy heart a bit at a time. 

The famous quote that says "be the change you want to see in the world" is so true.  If I can change a little bit of me, then it always surprises me how the things around me change.  All it takes is a choice...