Friday, February 27, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday

California almond trees ♥

 
"The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers."
 
~ Unknown source, but posted on Facebook by Uncle Wes

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A quilt for my niece

I have been wanting to try my hand at sewing triangles for the longest time, and was inspired by a quilt I saw on Pinterest last year. I loved the herringbone pattern as opposed to the more common chevron designs, so I pinned it and then started the process. I bought the fabric, cut all the squares, cut them into triangles, sewed half of the rows, and then set it aside. Once I'd started my yoga teacher training last summer the whole quilt making gig was moved to the back burner for a while.



This quilt is for my niece, Britny, and I knew we'd be seeing her when Carrie and I traveled to California last week. I really wanted to give her the quilt in person, so after Christmas I got back to it with sheer determination to finish it before our trip.


Oh my gosh I loved making this quilt for Britny! I loved thinking of her as I sewed, remembering what a sweet little girl she had been, and feeling so proud of the amazing young woman she's grown into. All those gray and white triangles came together nicely in a true labor of love.



It was so cool to give the quilt to Britny in person last week. She stayed in our hotel room with Carrie and me for the first two nights of our California trip, so I actually got to spend a couple of days seeing her wrapped in her quilt. It was so awesome to see it finished, off of my sewing table, and wrapped around the sweet girl it was meant for.

Next quilting project?
Well, I have a friendship quilt to assemble...

Monday, February 23, 2015

Weekend Recap Video

Hello, blog friends.
Oh what I wouldn't give to still be in California this morning with my family. Carrie and I had such a great weekend road trip and I did take some photos, but they pale in comparison to the adorable video she made. So rather than uploading photos this morning I'm just going to share Carrie's video.



Have a great week, everyone!
PS: The song Carrie used is a cover of The Beatles "The Two of Us"  by Aimee Man and Michael Penn from the movie "Sam I Am."

Friday, February 20, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday


"Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages."

~ George Washington

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Mandala, mandala, mandala...

Remember when I used to blog about crafting and baking and gardening?
I'll admit that I kind of miss that about PaperTurtle - the crafting and baking and gardening - but that's the way it goes with a personal blog, I suppose. This blog has always mirrored what's going on in my life, and right now it's yoga and mandala drawing. Long time readers will remember a time when this blog was all about my mom's fight against cancer. That was not my favorite time for blogging, but I can't imagine having gone through that time without my blogging community.

Crafting and the other stuff are still hanging out in the background, and they'll pop up from time to time here on this blog; of that I'm sure. But for today I have no words of wisdom, no silly antidotes to share with you, just another mandala to add to my growing collection...


Every mandala I draw is different, but I think it's interesting to see my style emerging with each mandala that I've drawn. I love the feminine nature of my mandalas. This really is my current favorite craft.



I'm going to be offering a yoga class and mandala workshop for my local yoga friends in the near future. I'm working out the details of the poses and the art, and I can hardly wait to share that here.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Valentine's Day in the desert

When I say "Happy Monday" I really mean it this week.
I have today off work for President's Day.
:o)
It's so fun that Valentine's Day fell on a three-day weekend for us this year. Doug and I took a picnic lunch and spent some time in the desert on Saturday. Ahhh - the weather was absolutely perfect, and we found the prettiest spot to hang out for the afternoon. Come in, let me show you...

One of the advantages of being married to an outdoorsman is that he knows some really cool and remote locations. Though, we weren't exactly alone for the afternoon. With the glorious weather there were other Arizonan's out and about as well. Gotta' share the planet...

It's been a few years since I've shot a gun {healing shoulder} and we decided we'd take some time to do a little target practicing. Now, I know gun control is a hot topic and I'm not going to get all opinionated about the political junk associated around it. I will say that guns scare the living daylights out of me but Doug has taught me how to respect them. And he's taught me how to shoot and I must say I'm a pretty good shot. It's so fun to hit the bulls-eye! Or...well...pretty darn close to it anyway!

I smile to myself when I think of the contrast between yoga and the violent power of a gun. Yin and yang, dark and light, him and me...



What a beautiful day it was! This area was west of Superior, Arizona. Sigh...I want to go back...
 
 Exploring...


What a great way to spend Valentine's Day. The fresh air and sunshine was good for both of us.

On the horizon this week: I'm SO close to finishing the quilt I've been working on! I'm excited to blog about it next week. And I'm gearing up for a road trip with my girl C to meet the new baby in our family and celebrate a first birthday for my niece, Olivia.

Wishing you blue skies and sunshine this week,
and the lingering happiness of Valentine's Day.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday


"Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could."
~ Barbara de Angelis

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

It's February and I'm...




Loving all things Valentine and hearts and loooovvvveee... ♥ ♥ ♥

Celebrating the completion of a quilt top I've been working on (here and there) for over 8 months now!

Planning my next quilting project with Friendship Quilt Squares.

Looking forward to a road trip with my girl C next weekend to meet the new baby in the family.

Remembering that I need to figure out a birthday present for a one-year-old we'll be celebrating next week too...

Practicing yoga more at home and loving it. My home practice has really come a long way in the past few months.

Gearing up to teach a weekly yoga class at my chiropractor friend's office - every Saturday morning beginning March 14th!!! :o)

Drawing mandalas. {I know, big surprise...}

Enjoying the hint of spring in the air, and

Dreaming of a spring garden.

Reading "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay. Highly recommend!

Finding great inspiration daily from this "Own Your Awesome" affirmation deck. {LOVE the design and the words and everything about these.}

Nurturing my heart and soul and spirit in every way I can.

How's your February shaping up?

Monday, February 9, 2015

This Weekend's Valentine Party

Good Monday morning, blog friends.
And Happy Valentine's week to you.
Well, that might go down as the fastest weekend ever. It feels like I blinked and ~boom~ sweet memories. Ah...really sweet memories...


Carrie and I hosted our fifth annual Valentine party with our dear crafting friends. In the past, each guest brought their own craft project to work on, but we've discovered {as a group} that we love having a common craft to work on at our gatherings. We've created canvases and decorated boxes together, and this time we created Valentine banners/buntings/garlands.
 
Supplies were gathered and shared. We had such a fun time creating, chatting, snacking and just being together.


And of course, there were cupcakes...


Red velvet cupcakes by me, arrow cupcake toppers by Carrie. {She found the tutorial here.}


Helium balloons weighted down with a heart shaped rock. :o)

Candy. Candy. Candy. Candy.


Here's a look at my banner, and here's the part where I admit that I did not photograph anyone else's banner. How selfish of me. Ha! And shoot. I wish you could see what my creative friends made! It's always so fun to see how each of us takes the same general project and turns it in to our own unique creation. Next time...

We did our "I ____" exchange again this year. Each person brings five of one item they love and we exchange our favorites. So, everyone leaves with five different things that their friends love. I that Carrie always writes on the table cover what our favorites are. And I her cute handwriting. And I that she used a gold pen. And I totally her!



It's so fun that we have been hosting this Valentine party for five years now! We're already planning the next get together with our friends - maybe something for Easter if we're lucky. 

And with that I'm off to hit the yoga mat before I get ready for work. I have a busy week ahead, and I that I carry sweet weekend memories with me as I go.

Wishing each of you a week filled with wonderful things.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday


"Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you."
~ Joey Adams

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

I am _____. And that's exactly what I am.

If you had 15 seconds to tell someone about yourself, what would your story be?

At a recent yoga workshop we paired off into groups of two and our teacher timed us. The first 15 seconds one of us told our story, and the next 15 seconds the other person told theirs. Then we'd switch and do the same thing all over again with a new partner.

My first partner began telling her story by mentioning her profession. I was impressed when she said she'd been an intensive care nurse for the past 30 years! And she was a mom and the owner of two dogs... I'm a little embarrassed to admit that from that point forward my mind kind of wandered. Instead of giving her my undivided attention, the chatter in my own mind took over. What was I going to say when it was my turn?
 

When it was my turn I followed suit. "I'm an office manager," I began, "and I'm married to a great guy and I have one grown daughter. She's here in the workshop with me..." I added, and pointed proudly in Carrie's direction. I stammered...what next...what next... and then rattled off, "I'm a yoga teacher, a blogger, an artist, a seamstress..." Ding. Time's up. Switch partners and tell your story again.


With the next partner I said almost the exact same thing, but it felt different when I repeated it that time. I became keenly aware of how I was labeling myself, so by the time I made it to my third partner I dropped the office manager gig and went straight to, "I'm a yoga teacher and an artist. I've been married to an awesome guy for 10 years and my daughter is here in the workshop with me. I'm a blogger and photographer and I love to sew and make quilts, I love to bake..."
 
The point of this exercise was to become aware of the stories we tell about ourselves, but there was more to learn and lots more to think about once we'd made our way back to our own yoga mats. We were asked to consider what our inside story is. How did we complete the sentence, "I am ____" inside our own minds?


The words "I am" are such powerful words - they define who we believe we are, deep in our heart and soul. I thought about how I finish that sentence in my own mind about myself. Those statements are much different from the ones I tell the outside world about myself - beyond how I earn a living and what hobbies I love.

Here are some of my typical inner I am statements: "I am nervous and can't find the right words so I'll surely stutter." "I am not worthy - I could never be successful with that..." "I am afraid you won't like me." "I don't deserve to follow that dream." "I am fat." "I fall out of yoga poses and therefore I am weak." "I am SOOOOO busy." "I look old...ugh! These wrinkles..." But when I take a step back, really think about those things and take a close look at each of them...none of them really define who I am. In fact, none of those things are true at all. So why do I repeat them and own them with a deep sense of feeling and attachment? Why, indeed.

I realize that those negative beliefs about myself have been so stifling. Once I became aware of them, I was shocked to learn how many different stories I tell myself about me. Quite frankly, it was a bit overwhelming. Recognizing those thought patterns is the first step to being able to change them. Changing those thought patterns is the first step to being able to move forward on some things that I've been holding back on. It was overwhelming, but very liberating as well.


When we understand that thoughts that are connected to feelings become who we are, we can begin to work on changing those thoughts. We become more mindful about the stories we tell ourselves over and over, day after day, like a broken record.

What if we started paying attention to the little lies we tell ourselves? Just start to notice them. And what if we turned those unkind and untrue "I am" statements into more positive ones? Then we can begin to write new and more accurate stories about ourselves - ones that move us forward instead of holding us back. Stories that allow our light to shine like it was meant to do. True stories that help us to grow ourselves and in turn, inspire others. I am worthy. I am kind. I am generous. I deserve this. I deserve that...

I'm a blogger and a writer and a mandala lover.
I am joyous. I am peaceful. I am love.
I am working on believing in me.

"You are the way you are because you tell yourself you are that way."
~ Don Juan to Carlos Castaneda

Monday, February 2, 2015

Weekend with a Tequila Sunrise

Happy Monday morning, blog friends!
I think our blood oranges could have used a few more weeks of ripening, but once the birds discover them it's in our best interest to save what we can. So on Saturday, Doug picked all of the oranges and we had his brother and our SIL over for blood orange margaritas.





We had lots of rain toward the end of last week, and most of the day on Saturday. It was such a surprise to wake up Sunday morning to fog {very rare here in Arizona}! And the reminder of why I don't drink tequila. ~sigh~
 



There was also a yoga workshop in the mix this weekend, and Super Bowl Sunday which was very low-key this year {see previous paragraph...}. Carrie came over and we made nachos and watched part of the game together.

This week includes a hair appointment, yoga classes, and preparing for our fifth annual Valentine crop with our crafting friends next weekend. I may even try to finagle an afternoon off work to dedicate to finishing up the quilt top that seems to be taking for.ever. to complete.

Look for the good in everything this week, my friends.
It's there if you watch for it.
xoxox
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