celebrate every day . . .

Celebrate!

Every day is a special occasion!

Life has been stressful, busy, and ever changing.  What's new - right?

Life has also been amazing, full of happy, and a blessing.

Life is like that I guess.

I am making time to create and play everyday.  I need that.  I think we all need that!

What you think, you become.

What you feel, you attract.

What you imagine, you create.

~ Buddha

summer hair . . .

My summer hair for 2019.  I have a new boss this coming year.  I forgot to tell him that I do this at the end of the school year and it may have caught him off guard . . . or maybe not.   This was a couple of weeks ago . . . it is fading into a fun pink/peachy color.  There was some bright yellow in it that is hard to see in this picture.  I wish I would have added more yellow . . . maybe next time.

Where have I been?  I haven't posted in so long.  Let's see if I can get back to blogging this summer.   Happy Friday!

today is a good day . . .

Life seems to be a little more simple to me these days.

Don't get me wrong . . . it is crazy, hectic, and sometimes way more complicated than I would like it to be, but something in me over the past year has shifted.  

Life 

is

Beautiful!

Peace ~ Love ~ Grandma Dona

What a Spring Break!

7 days . . . over 3200 miles . . . 6 states (twice) . . . snow . . . rain . . . wind . . . fun stops along the way . . . junk food . . . some good food . . . 

. . . and my mom now lives in California.

Life changes . . . so you may as well enjoy the change and have some fun!

twotti fruitti birthday . . . .

 I had to redo a photo frame for Avery's Twotti Fruitii birthday party.

I wasn't completely happy with it, but it worked.  :)  

I really did like the pineapple in the corner though.  I should have gotten more pineapples. :)  

 They just make me smile!

How can she be two years old already?  

This is one sweet girl . . . with some unique attitude thrown in.

Love our Avery Rose!

doodles . . . journals . . . books . . .

I have written in a journal for years.  I started using a journal just to let everything out.  I was going through some tough times and someone suggested that it would help . . . it did.  There were times that I was amazed at how much better I felt after writing everything down.  Years later I burned all those journals.  There were things in them I didn't want anyone else to read and there were a lot of things I worked hard to let go of . . . I never wanted to read them again myself.  It actually felt great watching them grow up in smoke.  :)
I still journal . . . almost every day.  I have a personal journal, an art journal, a prayer journal . . . and various notebooks that I jot ideas down in.  Somehow it just feels right to write it all down.
I decided to use this post to list a few journal prompts that I was thinking about today.

1.  Good Things Today - just make a list . . . 

2.  What do you want your children and/or grandchildren to remember about you.

3.  What do you like most about yourself and why?  (Go for it . . . list more than one.)

4.  Write a letter to your younger self.

5.  Write about three things from your childhood that helped make you who you are.

6.  Write about three things in your life that changed you.

7.  Change . . . how do you deal with change?

GOOD THINGS TODAY . . .
a big hug and a sticky strawberry kiss from Avery Rose.  :)
Lily coming into the office today just to give me a hug
reading
talking to my Aunt Hess
watching "Bull Durham" . . .  (best baseball movie ever)
hot mint tea
folding paper cranes
dinner ready when I got home
candles and incense

"It's never too late for a new
beginning in your life."
~ Joyce Meyers

flashback friday . . .

This photo popped up in my Time Hop app this morning.  It made me laugh and it made me remember me - back then.  I was probably 21 or 22 . . . quite a few years ago and a lot of life between then and now.  Sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder what happened to her - but when I think a little more about it . . . I was me then and I am me now . . . with some changes of course.  Life and time have a way of doing that.

My word for the year is CHANGE and this photo got me thinking about that also.
I'm still working through what changes I need to make.  Some of them are simple . . . some of them not so simple.  In fact, some are extremely complicated.  Wish me luck with those.  :)

I am feeling the need for change . . .
. . .  but maybe I am just becoming more myself. 

new coffee mug!

I honestly don’t think my mind is ever completely at rest . . . maybe when I am asleep, but even then I wake up with so many ideas flying through my head . . . and for some reason lately I have been having the most vivid dreams, so maybe my mind isn’t even at rest when I am asleep.   I don’t mind and since I have always been this way I guess I am used to it . . . and they are such “great ideas” that keep me motivated and keep me doing the things that I love to do.  What I don’t like is when I have to pay more attention to the “must do” type of things . . . instead of the more fun “I want to do and make and create and just do whatever I want to do when I want to do it” type of things. 

Being a responsible adult for some time now - I have lived my life keeping all the “stuff” in my head in order, doing the “must dos” because why? . . . because I am a responsible adult and “I must”.  I do find time to do the “fun” stuff . . . when I can.  Let me also add that I am a nurturer and tend to take care of everyone else before myself.  I think this is a good quality and simply part of who I am as a wife and mother, but I do think it got out of balance at one point.  I have taken steps to get the balance back . . . but there seems to be something else stirring in me . . .

If I handled this in an over the top, extreme way like I sometimes feel like doing . . .  I would once again throw everything out of balance. 

I would . . . 

. . . quit my job

. . . pack up and move somewhere I have never lived before – maybe Arizona or San Francisco or maybe Maine (wait it gets cold in Maine).

. . . buy a barn or warehouse and turn it into my home

. . . dye my hair purple (wait . . . I did this last summer) . . . ok - I would add some turquoise and maybe dreads

. . . I would live every day in flip flops, stay up all night, wander whenever I felt like it,  have omelets and beer for breakfast every so often – or maybe cake and champagne,  I would work in a bakery . . . just so I could wear a cute apron and sell pretty cupcakes . . . or maybe a used book store . . .

It isn’t that I don’t love my life . . . I do and I cannot imagine leaving it or the people in it . . . but like I said – something is stirring.  So I am finding a new balance that works for me . . . and as a responsible adult I know this can be done without quitting my job or convincing Richard to turn a barn into our home.  (I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to convince him to have omelets and beer for breakfast once in awhile.)

So . . .  I have some ideas . . .  (lots of ideas!!!)

The only thing is when these moods hit me and I start doing “crazy” things . . . the people I love don’t always like what I do or it inconveniences them  . . . and I am sometimes met with a little attitude and/or judgement.  I guess where the balance comes in is when I don’t let that influence me . . . and do what is good for me. 

I saw a coffee mug on Pinterest awhile back that I liked . . . Jennifer made me one just like it and surprised me with it this morning . . . which is what sort of got me thinking about the idea for this post.  It may seem a little rude . . . but it isn’t meant to be.  It is just a reminder that there are times I just need to do the things I need to do for me . . .  and everyone can just “shut up.”  

photo challenge 1/31/16 . . . self

Just be yourself.  

Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, 

quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are.

 My final post for my January Photo Challenge.  It has been fun and gave my creative side the little bit of a kick start that it needed.  I like messing around with photo collages . . . just a simple one of me and some of the things that I like.  Clare, Sis, Mom, Planet, Clare Helen, Amma  . . . whatever name I go by - it's still me.  From baby to nearly 57 years old - it's still me.  

I've changed a lot over the years - its' still me.  

Sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder where that young person went . . . but it's still me. 

 I can say I lost myself a few times along the way . . . but not for long.  

I have learned that I have to be true to myself . . . 

I just have to be me.

photo challenge 1/21/16 . . . childhood memory

I honestly don't remember this particular day, but have so many memories of my aunt and uncles farm . . . and what better photo from a childhood in Iowa than a young me holding what I believe is an ear of corn.  Some of my memories are vague and others more specific, but all the memories I have of time on this farm are good ones . . . a dog named Ginger, the farm cats, I seem to remember getting water from a pump, sitting in front of my aunts vanity, looking forward to my uncle coming in for lunch, driving to a nearby town and getting to pick out a bag of penny candy . . .
one memory leads to another . . . memories are like that.
I am blessed to have had the childhood that I had.
Sending out a special "I love you!" to my Uncle Al and Aunt Hess!
 Thanks for the wonderful memories!

thoughtful little surprise . . .

I love when I find fun little stuff on my desk.  It never hurts to start the day with something thoughtful that makes you smile.  

If you know someone that you would like to make smile . . . do something for them today!

Happy Friday!

March Photo Challenge 3/31 . . . self

Note to self 

Be Clare.

Keep praying.

Never give up.

Do everything with love.

Be Happy!

words about me . . .

I loved this post from ihanna and decided to post my own list of words that define me.  I like words, I like lists, and I love doing things like this . . . so here is my list - (in no particular order)

I am . . . 
faith, paper cranes, kind, brown eyes, caring, pens, curious, coffee, wife, forgiving, skeletons, quotes, reader, the walking dead, mother, green, creative, doodler, tennis, zombies, lip balm, Halloween, hearts, antique stores, glitter, blogger, grandmother, books, beer, peace signs, journals, friend, rainy days, coffee mugs, sunflowers, passionate, baseball, prayer, dolls, lists, happy, sushi, snail mail, fun paper, movies, weird, daughter, Starbucks, cemeteries, embroidery, pink, day of the dead, earrings, Autumn, silly, iPhone, flip flops, photographer, sister, vintage lace, crossword puzzles, vintage boxes, strong, sriracha sauce, buttons, talker, road trips, funny, maxi skirts, champagne, survivor, picnics, book stores, tall, graphic tees, detailed, angels, Adidas, lists, music, fabric, scones, scarves, family, books, love, bike rides, cribbage, farmers market, sunshine, yarn, hats, chalk, charms, perfume, jewelry, Summer, crafts, daily scriptures, books, beach, samplers, confident, walking/running, organized, sarcastic, color, bonfires, staying up late, freckles, Sharpies, convoluted . . . just me.

Let the FUN begin!

Life has been busy and maybe even a little complicated lately . . . only in the sense that other things have taken me away from doing the things that I like to do and at times I get pulled in directions that I really don't like going.  That seems to get me a little out of balance . . . but I guess life can do that.  So this week . . . I have made the effort to get back to "being Clare".  That is always a good thing.  Even better . . . Thanksgiving Break . . . a whole week off from work!  

Let the fun begin!

yesterday . . .

No real reason for this post . . . other than spending time with people I enjoy.
Yesterday was a good day . . . 

pool time for the girls . . .

Some women are dripping with diamonds, some women are dripping with pearls, look at me, lucky me, I'm dripping with little girls.

 ~ From the musical "Little Orphan Annie"

Flashback Friday . . .

Way back . . . This photo is for my Aunt Hess.  It was taken at her house.  I used to love to go out to visit her and my Uncle Al.  When I think of all the memories I have . . . we must have spent a lot of time visiting them at their farm.  Looking at this picture - I can picture the light in the kitchen and I can almost smell the different smells . . . the smells of the farm, the way their house smelled (and that always includes the smell of coffee . . .)

To my dear Aunt Hess (who follows my blog) . . . I love and miss you guys very much. 

Another way back . . . and a little more recent . . .

He's one of my favorite flashbacks.  :)

Flashback Friday . . .

I thought my family who follows my blog (especially my aunt) . . . would get a kick out of these.  I have always liked the top picture. 

Big brothers are wonderful things . . . even if you don't fully understand that until years later. 

 

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."  ~George Eliot

Movie NIght

We set up a projector and screen and watched movies outside tonight . . . a little on the chilly side - but so much fun.  The best part . . . playing with my shadow before we started the movie.

PEACE!