Believe.Hope.Dream.

Start. Here.

Right now. Wherever you may be. Whatever your past. Whoever you are. Just Start.

Be gentle in this New Beginning.

Be ok with fumbling a bit. Smile at the discovery. Breathe.

So what if you haven't always been on the right course, eaten the perfect foods, known the things you know today. That's called ... Living.  And hopefully, that's what we do on this Pretty Planet. We LIVE and LEARN. We let go. We surrender. We resist. We grow weary. We Begin... again.

Hold your heart open. 

I say this to you, because these are words I also need to hear. I am learning as I go.  Making changes. Brave, bold, big decisions. Little choices (no more coffee, gluten, booze, energy drinks for me). Big Choices (no more dairy, meat, swing fully back into the Yoga which calls to me). 

I have felt so out of synch with myself for the past little while and lacking the physical stamina to consistently and persistently create (words or art or anything really...), much less organize my murky feeling brain to DO all of the dreams I have swirling inside my heart.  I needed to make some changes. Why not? Even though I thought I was being pretty healthy(ish), my emotions have been up, down, and everywhere.  Healthy, I've learned includes many, many aspects to our Selfhood, this precious body, mind, and spirit which shares this Earth for such a brilliant little flicker of time.  Healthy is REALLY living vibrantly in every way - with full awareness, full kindness, full compassion, full curiousity, full adventure. Full.

I have been in such a bad habit of half heartedly living.  Living in little wee surges.  I've decided to take 21 little days to renew my body, mind, heart, and spirit.  Surely, even a procrastinator, with every good intention, but a poor sense of follow through (like me) could undertake such a tiny commitment. 

I've armed myself with Kris Carr's Crazy, Sexy, Diet. Get it. (and hop on over to Kris' website which is full of inspiration). It's so full of good info, tenderness, and all of the encouragement a weary spirit needs to transfrom their Wellness factor.

Also in the Medicine Bag ... Live Your Bliss by Terry Cole Whitaker (Wow. Just WOW.), Don Miguel and Don Alejandro Ruiz' The Fifth Agreement, and Clean Start by Terry Walters. 

My faithful hubby is on the path with me.  Always willing to undertake a new journey, he's agreed to a Meditation Corner in our Home.  We'll fill it with redwood incence, candles, and meaningful spiritual items which beckon to be placed on the mantle.  We'll procure two beautiful floor cushions (I have my heart set on orange and violet velvet - we'll see). We will sit our butts down and silence the chatter everyday. 

For me, following the 21 Day Adventure Cleanse as layed out in Kris' CSD book, is the beginning of something new and beautiful. 

Something new... and Beautiful. 

Perhaps you will hold my hand and take a fresh step with me? I will always cheer you on. 

XO

T

to make. with love. {Spring 2012}

With Spring extending daylight hours, I find myself feeling more creative, more inclined to learn new things.  Spring just does that to me - so full of color, life, sweetness, and blooming promise. 

For me, Spring is about embarking on new projects and learning new ways to Create and Be. On my Spring list:

1.  Learn Embroidery ....& Even make something?

Embroidery Tutorial  from little dear tracks. (and embroidery templates!) And animal totem patterns? Oh j'adore!

2. Learn Natural Dying....

Learn Natural Dye.

3.  Make Memories... & Find Ways to Print Them...

How is this idea for a new way of displaying your memories? ---> Print your images on glass at Fracture! Mr Bird and I have recently ordered a bunch of these for ourselves and loved ones. Fragile... yet oh so different!

4. Print on Fabric ....

Loving this website lately for novel ways to print text onto pretty much anything ...

5. Learn a better way to Eat ....

 

6. Take a (soulful) photography course....

 

Stacy De La Rosa has the most beautiful photography course that is part technique, and all soul. She is always so inspiring.

7. Explore the spirit(ed) world...

 

I happen to be a Summer Solstice baby (born on June 21... ) and this course just calls to me.  Rather than delay with my usual "oh I can get to that later ... " which never actually happens "later" - I feel I should embark on journeys... travel into unknown territory and explore. Pixie Campbell's SouLodge is just abundantly exciting to me!

8.  Print art on Tile ...

or photos.... Teeny Tile has become image snap ... and I just love thinking of the possibilities with printing art, illustrations, and digital photos onto tiles of all sizes!

9.  Finalize my book and ecourses by Summer ...

Ok.. this one doesn't have a diy until I actually have completed them. Then we might discuss how i overcame my major obstacles as time (with two little ones and a busy hubby!?), and fear of failure, oh and nevermind my procrastination and perfectionism issues...  We'll discuss soon. 

All of my love,

T

 

 

 

 

 

Gratitude + Giveaway :)

There is something unfurling, unraveling, unbinding, getting messy... things coming together, old things dying, falling apart.  Finding what was is no longer comforting. Finding what is unknown far less terrifying and a welcome path. 

Spring. Blooming.

Thank you to all who Planted a Kiss and participated by comment, by action, or by joyful spirit with the 16 bloggers, visionaries, creatives, artists, healers, and Lamplighters to spread kindness and joy recently.  Sherry at Simply Celebrate will be announcing the winners soon.

As a special extension of our Plant a Kiss activity- I was thinking of sending you an albeit not inflated balloon with a little illustrated note from me.  If you would like one, simply comment here. I will send out 11. (because that's like my favorite number ever - it was the day, month, and year of marrying the magician after all:)

WIth much gratitude for such beautiful connections! 

XO

here comes the sun :)

Spring: That lovely season when we emerge from our wintery slumber, clear out the clutter, giveaway what no longer serves us, and reinvigorate ourselves and our spaces. Emerging our tender shoots above the damp earth...

Was this Winter Season one of great change for you? This particular winter was a period of vast and sweeping changes in my own outlook and identity.  Getting married. Crossing a new threshold. A mini breakdown, as old shadows, resentments, fears, and doubts emerged unexpectedly.  Tears. Thrashing about. Flailing. Feelings of falling. The final chapter in a long journey... As I hibernated and cocooned, items which served me once (old journals, clothes, souvenirs from long ago, even an old rollodex of phone numbers I had not called in years) became items with which I could no longer identify.  For me, this time period was at times exhausting, and at times painful.  I felt anxious and overwhelmed, followed by a period of feeling annoyed by the "old" (books, photos, sketchbooks, music) which simply either reminded me of who I once was. 

Even my normal exuberance for travel lessened.  The same adventures which would infuse Life with new energy by distracting me from myself or the routine did little to rouse my being.  I felt much like a caterpillar dying to her old ways as wings began to push through.  The two weeks I spent in Zurich and London in January/February felt disjointed.  I could not lose myself in the journey.  Sick with the flu, emotionally and physically depleted, I looked for myself, my joy in every alley way and train station to no avail. 

Minor moments of connection buoyed my spirits slightly during those weeks. The odd fellows I encountered in a pub who passed the time before a "football" game. The lovely fellow on an evening jog who walked with me from Fleet Street to my hotel and quoted poetry and movies. The guests celebrating in the hotel lobby. The customs officer who so kindly gave me directions when I realized I had flown into an unfamiliar airport.  I felt that I had too much of everywhere to get lost in, and nowhere really to be found.

My once familiar London stomping grounds had become unfamiliar, the London I loved now more of a memory in my mind, a relic, just as much of my life now seemed.

Eventually, the world has regained balance and beauty once more.  Patience, self care, nurturing, nourishment, and healing tears crafted the framework in which I could safely fall into the Becoming.  Patience perhaps being the greatest of all virtues during this time.

Did you perhaps experience such massive transformation as well? Are you feeling perhaps a little tender still as your new outlook, ways, and burgeoning self emerge? Are you seeking balance after releasing, letting go, and relinquishing?

Be patient even still. Be tender with yourself. Breathe deeply. Inhaling this new life, exhaling the past.  You will find that as you grow into this new Self, a new Hope, Strength, and Balance have begun to sprout. 

This Spring, as you emerge from your own Winter, I hope you give yourself plenty of nurturing.  I have found oodles of new Inspiration to share with you for the Home, nourishing food for your tummy, and books and classes to support one another in growing these new wings.

Stay Tuned!

XO

PS: The Plant a Kiss blog hop party ends on 5/4 tomorrow evening! Be sure to check out the bloggers and their posts who participated in the project, leaving comments along the way.  Every comment you make enters you into a drawing for some fabulous Giveaways (inspiring courses and online classes as well as art and jewelry prizes!).  I have created a special illustration just for this project and a necklace also inspired by Plant a Kiss as items that I am offering as prizes! Good Luck!

"Plant a Kiss Day was created to celebrate the message and spirit behind Amy Krouse Rosenthal's work and the whimsical book she created, Plant a Kiss, which is beautifully illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. "In this gentle tale about hope, kindness, and sharing, see how one small acts blooms into something grander than anyone ever could have imagined." Plant a Kiss is not just for kids; it's the little bit of magic and hope we all long for, no matter what our age. Order the book on Amazon." (courtesy: Simply Celebrate)

Plant a Kiss (*up, up, and away!)

Have you read the delight-filled book "Plant a Kiss" which was co-planted by the lovely Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter H. Reynold? Sherry Richert Belul of Simply Celebrate invited 16 Lamp Lighters to "Plant a Kiss" in the world on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - to spread a little extra joyness, color, and magic.

Today we are posting about that experience.On the Plant a Kiss page,  you can link to the artists, writers, healers, teachers, bloggers, and visionaries who participated. Every blog you visit and comment on, gives you you a chance to win one of many amazing prizes (*writing, photography, or dream-building classes; coaching sessions; artwork,  jewelry - inspiration and mentors galore!!!).

For my part ... I found myself deeply pondering this day prior to the "event". What could I do?  Something that I had noticed weeks before by the visionary Social Print Media struck a chord and resonated for this Project. Social Print has recently launched a "send an email 'eventually' app" called Slow Message where you can write an email and set delivery for days, weeks, months, even years in the future. What if this project did the same? What if I could not see the immediate effects but planted a kiss for merely the possibility of joy - ?

Mr.Bird and I wrote encouraging messages on paper. I illustrated the notes with simple drawings. To one dozen ballooons, we attached our messages, in the hopes that the sight of the balloons, and perhaps the eventual "finding" of the notes (once the balloons *popped*) would inspire awe and wonderment... eventually.

Soon after we released the balloons, we stood upon a bench to watch our little gems float far into the horizon til we could not see them anymore. When I looked around, I saw several people watching our balloons.

"I have to ask," said one fellow, "What is going on?"

I explained to him... Plant A Kiss Day.

"Oh," he said,"So good to remember the children."

But watching his face, and knowing our own inner joy at watching the balloons sail far into the ether, I thought... It is so good to remember that we are ALL children....

I do so hope our UP balloon message inspired by Amy and Peter, lifted someone's spirits on this day. Although it would be completely acceptable that no one find one of our messages, I do secretly hope that someone who may really need to hear the words we wrote finds our message(s) someday... not so that we can hear how we gave hope, but to know that somehow, though unseen, the Hope we planted today through a small act of Kindness .... bloomed, eventually.

Did you participate in Plant a Kiss Day? (*heck, why not make EVERY day a Kiss day?) If you hope over to the Blog Party Page on Simply Celebrate, leaving comments as you go on the Bloggers who Planted, you will be entered to win some amazing prizes! Why not check it out? Who knows - the items given just may plant a kiss in your heart today.... or ... eventually!

You can hop around and leave comments until the end of the day on Friday, May 4th, so if you want to help spread the word, that would be simply ducky. For every blog you comment on, you get another chance to win one of the great prizes donated by the project's participants.

XO