Friday, July 31, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday

"Today I will live in the moment, unless it is
unpleasant in which case I will eat a cookie!"
~ Cookie Monster
 

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

It was just a boat ~ a yoga story

The first time I heard this story was during my yoga teacher training. When our teacher shared it, I loved it so much that I vowed to retell it to my own students someday. The original story is not mine, but the version I share here today is. An internet search to give credit was unfruitful, though I did find that it may have originated as a lesson told by a great Zen Master, Lin Chi. It goes like this:


Lin Chi was a monk who lived by a beautiful lake. The lake was surrounded by a thick forest of trees, and there were snowcapped mountains in the distance.
 
Every morning Lin Chi would go down to the dock, untie his boat, and row to the middle of the lake. There he would sit in quiet meditation as the sun rose, in the still serenity of the beautiful lake.
One morning as he was meditating, something startling happened. There, in his solitude, Lin Chi felt something bump into his boat. Lin Chi felt anger and irritation instantly rise within him. What kind of person would be so inconsiderate as to interrupt his bliss? Who would do such a thing?! He turned quickly; ready to confront the person who had disturbed his peace. What he saw surprised him.
There, in the lake next to him, was an empty boat. The boat had come untied from the dock and drifted out to the middle of the lake and – just by chance – bumped into Lin Chi’s boat.
Lin Chi laughed at the sight. There was no one to blame; no one to scorn. It was just an empty boat. He turned back to resume his meditation. One slow deep inhale, a long full exhale, and he was back in his blissful state of meditation.
And so it is with each of us as we go through our days. May we be mindful of those times when something happens to rock our boat. During those times, when there’s really no one to blame, no one to scorn, may we return to our breath and allow the empty boat to drift on by.

Monday, July 27, 2015

A weekend of cupcakes, family, and packing.

Hello, my friends.
When my alarm went off this morning I was right in the middle of a dream where I was preparing to deliver a Sunday sermon to a large church congregation. I had just minutes to prepare what I was going to say and could feel the panic rising in my body. "Gratitude!" I thought. "When in doubt, I'll speak of gratitude."

A great reminder for me on this Monday morning when my mind is full of all kinds of things - sorting out details of our upcoming move and dealing with some work issues that are super annoying right now but when kept in perspective, aren't that big of a deal in the big scheme of things. Still, I'd really rather not go to work today. ~sigh~

Anyway! This isn't supposed to be a post about my Monday morning disposition, it's about the awesome weekend that I'm grateful for. Let's shift gears, shall we?


After yoga class on Saturday morning, I came home and made the most delicious lemon cupcakes to take to a party at Doug's brother's house that afternoon. I wanted to try a new recipe so I went to my Pinterest cupcake board and homed in on this one. Wow - SO yummy!!!

The gathering with my in-laws on Saturday was a celebration of many things: a nephew returning home from a long stay in China, a niece moving away to California, a brother-in-law's retirement, and a new baby in the family...


We sisters-in-law passed this little peach around all night - SO much fun to have a new baby in the family and she is just the sweetest - never really fussed at all and went between smiling and snoozing the entire evening. Her big sister swam and played and ate cupcakes until the end of the evening. Here she is: "Grandma, you've been holding Ellie all night. I want you to hold me now."

Saturday night's get together was so much fun. We stayed late talking and laughing and having just one more glass of wine...  Sunday morning was a slow start. ;o)
 
Then yesterday I started packing boxes for our upcoming house move. We get the keys for our new house on August 17th but aren't actually moving until mid-September. This gives me plenty of time to pack, and I'm taking advantage of these next several weeks to go through our belongings and purge a few things. Whiskers is happy and oblivious to his future - loves having random boxes to explore but is not a fan of change. He's the pet I'm most concerned about for our upcoming move.

I am so grateful for this home we've lived in for the past four years. My gosh, a lot has changed in that time! Today I will practice an attitude of gratitude, as suggested by my own Monday morning dream state. I'm setting my sights on tonight's session of mandala drawing with my friend B and my girl C. Time to hit the yoga mat and face the day...
 
Here's wishing each of you a week full of blessings,
and the ability to recognize those blessings with gratitude.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Another round of photography scavenger hunt photos

Today is the day I show you my latest finds for Rinda's 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. Come on in...

1 - a bouquet of flowers
I have always made a habit of having fresh flowers on our kitchen table. I usually don't buy roses, but our local grocery store had these on sale a few weeks ago and I just couldn't resist. Wow - they were beautiful! Started out as tight little rose buds, opened wide, and lasted a full week! I read recently that having fresh flowers in your house can help fight depression. So there. :o)

2 - an ornate door knocker
This is one of those items that I wondered if I'd be able to find. When we arrived at my father-in-law's house last week for dinner there it was, for my photographing pleasure. {Three cheers for our US Marine Corps! Hip-hip-OOorah! Hip-hip-OOorah! Hip-hip-OOorah!}

5 - architectural columns
Downtown Chandler, Arizona - the old part of town that's all renovated and trendy and fun now - and a bit barren at this time of day. Summer heat, you know.

7 - a turtle
Casper the turtle to be exact. We've had such a great habitat for our two box turtles in this house! We'll really miss being able to see them on a regular basis because our new house doesn't have an atrium. Our new digs will require some clever thinking to figure out where we will keep them once we move. You know I'll keep you posted...


15 - a flag pole with at least three flags on it
(flags are US, Arizona, City of Chandler)

Text from Carrie a few weeks ago: "Wanna know some really good news?"
Me: "Of course!"
Carrie: "I found a flagpole with three flags on it."
Me: "OMG that's fantastic!!! Where?!?!"

I love that Rinda's photo hunt gets the whole family involved. This flag pole was in downtown Chandler in front of the Center for Performing Arts.

16 - a panoramic view, taken from someplace high in the air
We attended a Diamondback's baseball game on July 4th and arrived at the ballpark super early. I loved being able to get a table at Friday's, high above left field before crowds filled the place! We were able to watch batting practice before the game, have a leisurely dinner, and take a photo for Rinda's photo hunt. :o) Diamondbacks on the field, Carrie and Andrew on the right.


18 - an overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
I snapped this photo on our way home from California at the beginning of June. Overloaded vehicle times two.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thirteen down, eight to go!

Monday, July 20, 2015

This weekend's mandala workshop for kids

Good day, blog friends.
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a mandala workshop for big and little people with my yoga friend, Jessica. I have some photos of the event to share with you today. :o)
 
I met Jessica at a teacher training workshop for kids yoga certification back in March. On the first morning of the training she rolled her mat out next to mine and we became instant friends.

So when Jessica suggested that we lead a yoga/mandala workshop for parents and kids at the studio where she teaches, I jumped at the chance.
 


A favorite part of the mandala workshops I lead is creating a mandala with yarn on the floor. A piece of masking tape is placed just under the front edge of our mats, and we roll a ball of yarn in a pattern as each person answers a question before securing the yarn at their point. Really deep questions like, "What's your favorite animal?" "...color?" "...flavor of ice cream?" It's a great way for mandala newbies to visualize how a mandala is formed.

Jessica lead the yoga practice in a circle format where we created a moving mandala with our poses. I lead a brief instruction on how to draw a mandala and then everyone moved away from the main circle to draw and color for a while. I loved seeing the parent/child groups together, engrossed in their own mandalas and enjoying some creative time together.


When Carrie was little we crafted together often. Seeing these moms and young daughters together really brought back some sweet memories for me.


The above photo is of my yoga friend, Cindy and her sweet little girl. Cindy and I completed our 200-hour yoga teacher training together. As I snuck in a few photos of them I overheard this little angel tell her mommy, "You're my best friend." Ah! I loved bearing witness to their sweet connection, and knowing that the process of being with their mandalas created that space for them.

I had copies of mandala coloring book pages for kids to color, and the parents (and some of the older kids) drew their own. One of the coolest things for me is to say farewell at the end of the workshop to people clutching their mandala kits with a look in their eyes that tells me they can't wait to go home and draw some more. Spreading mandala love is so awesome.

And I brought along a little friend of my own. :o) The next photo is of my 9-year old friend, "A," who had never practiced yoga before but is a budding artist and I knew she would dig it. On our way home from the workshop I asked, "So what did you think of your first yoga class?" and she replied, "I really loved it."

The turtle mandala pages are some that I drew and copied for coloring pages. I will be sharing those here on my blog in the future. :o)


So that's what I did on Saturday afternoon. The rest of the weekend was filled with the normal fanfare of grocery shopping, laundry, a little art of my own yesterday afternoon, and dinner made by Carrie last night. Awesome, awesome weekend. Super, super fast two days.

And now, it's off to work I go...
Setting my sights on my next mandala workshop coming up in October.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday

"All boundaries that are currently valid, and that define us at the moment, must be repeatedly questioned, sacrificed and traversed."
~ Verena Kast

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

My Art Journal Cover ~ Color Wheel Style

I'm currently in the second week of a Chakra Color Art Journal class lead by Louise Gale. If you've never seen her work you're missing out! Her mandalas are crazy cool and so inspiring! {Thanks to Alexa for introducing me to Louise's art!}

Our first class prompt was to create a color wheel and my mind went straight to this jar of buttons. I have wanted to create a mandala using some of my button collection for months now, and it feels so good to have finally made that happen!


Oh my gosh, you guys, I have SO many buttons! But when I think of downsizing my supply and letting some of them go I get a little knot in my stomach. Ha!

I love these sketchbooks made by Canson - I use their mixed media style. The pages take water well so I can use watercolors on them, and I also love the weight and texture of the paper. {I love me some nice quality paper!!!} Plus it has a nice sturdy cover and it really took the gesso and mod podge well for this project. I purchase mine from Michael's, always with a coupon.


I am so excited to start filling this art journal with all kinds of color, and you can bet I'll share some of my pages as I go.

In case you're curious, here's how I created the cover:

* two coats of gesso to cover up the print on the front of the sketchbook
* a layer of sheet music pieces, torn and then adhered with mod podge
* a wash of blue watercolor paint
* a swirl of gesso to anchor the design
* bright colored buttons that I arranged and re-arranged and re-arranged some more before gluing them on with tacky glue

Monday, July 13, 2015

This weekend's new direction

Oh hey there, blog friends.
Happy new week to you!
Big news this morning! We made an offer on a house last week and the seller accepted our offer. :o) If all goes according to plan, we'll close and get our keys on August 17th, and then move sometime in September. Our actual moving date is unknown because it depends on the length of time it takes to do a bit of necessary remodeling before we can unpack boxes. We are really excited and the wheels are in motion - dreaming up possibilities for this room or that. Our new home is about two miles from where we currently live, so yes, we are staying (very) local.
 
Friday night's sunset was so pretty! I find myself being only a little sentimental about leaving this house. I'm ready. We're ready. I'm excited to see this Arizona sky from a whole new backyard!

Saturday morning I attended CPR/first aid training at my local community center. When I registered for the training I was surprised that the cost was only $8. And then I was really surprised when I arrived that morning and the instructor announced that our $30 certification fee could be paid in cash, check, or money order. Wait, what?! A few other students weren't prepared either, so I wasn't the only one who hadn't read the fine print in the registration confirmation. Ugh - I had $28 and some change, and I don't carry my checkbook with me. I had to leave to find an ATM, came back with two $20's and the instructor couldn't make change for $40. I emptied my wallet onto the table and counted out $29.80. Twenty cents short.

Finally! Someone offered to finish out my payment by twenty cents. It was a weird way to start the morning - knowing I was delaying the class because I wasn't prepared, feeling a little embarrassed that I didn't have the right amount, and then feeling grateful that someone offered to help me out like that.

Sheesh! And I always sit through those trainings praying that I'll never have to use the information I'm learning. Just seeing those CPR dummies is enough to make me worry! But anyway, I'm certified for the next two years and that will allow me to sub for my friend's corporate lunch hour yoga class two days this week. That was my whole Saturday morning.

Now that we have an approximate moving date I can start wrapping my head around packing. So that's pretty much what I did for the rest of the weekend.

I did spend some time yesterday afternoon preparing kits for a yoga/mandala workshop I'll be co-teaching with my friend Jessica this weekend. Jessica is a kid's yoga teacher, and this workshop is for parents and children ages 5+. She'll lead the yoga part, and I'll be leading the mandala part. I've drawn some mandalas for coloring, and have a simple kit made up for those who want to learn to draw mandalas from start to finish.
This week is going to fly by! Carrie and I have concert tickets for tomorrow night to see Trevor Hall, I'm teaching a lunch hour corporate yoga class for my friend Mary on Tuesday and Thursday, meeting at the new house for the inspection on Tuesday afternoon, teaching yoga Wednesday night, dermatologist appointment on Thursday, teaching yoga Saturday morning, then mandalas Saturday afternoon. Oh yeah, plus there's that full time job I'm obligated to.

My head is kind of spinning! Time to calm it down on my yoga mat before getting ready for work this morning.

If your eyes are reading this I am so grateful that you came to visit.
And I'm wishing you the best week ever!
xoxoxox

Friday, July 10, 2015

Just a Quote for Friday



"The secret to being in the right place, at the right time is knowing that you always are."
~ Mike Dooley

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Only Human

 I say things I regret.
I do things I am not proud of.
I hurt people's feelings.
I am human.

I use kind words effortlessly and often.
I do things that I am proud of.
I lift people up.
I am human.

I have days that take the wind out of my sails.
I worry too much about things that will {probably} never happen.
I can be a real jerk sometimes.
I am human.

I have days when I feel like I can accomplish anything.
I catch myself when I worry and quickly turn it around.
I can be a real sweetheart sometimes.
I am human.

I stumble and I fall.
I pick myself up and dust myself off.
Over and over again.
Day after day.
I am human. 
 

Monday, July 6, 2015

Red, White and Blue Weekend Recap

Good day, blog friends.
Ahhhhh...three day weekends are the best. We had such a great time celebrating Independence Day with friends and family. Come on in, I'll show you...

Mmhm. I drew mandalas here and there throughout the weekend. 


Doug's dad served two tours in Vietnam and he has a really cool collection of slides - and some pretty amazing stories to go with them. Friday evening we gathered at his house for dinner and a slide show. For the most part, my father-in-law speaks candidly when he recalls events during his time at war. Only when he speaks of people he knew who didn't come home does he choke up. His patriotism and heroism are an example to us all.

After the slide show we had some flags to retire. These are flags that we've flown long enough that they are either faded from the sun or tattered from flapping in the wind. Retiring flags by burning them in a respectful ceremony is the proper way to do it. My father-in-law retired a Marine Corps flag first and sang an emotional rendition of the Marine Corps hymn. Then we retired two US flags after paying respect to their colors and what they stand for. We sang "God Bless America" as they expired. Times like these are a so special for us - to be with family and to honor our country like this is such a privilege.

On Saturday, the 4th of July, we attended a baseball game! We went downtown early in the day to beat the crowd, and I loved being there before all the hustle and bustle. The Diamondback's game was sold out that night (14,000+) so this place really filled up later in the day.


We had really great seats for the game (thanks to a raffle that Doug won a few months ago) and enjoyed our time with Carrie and her beau, Andrew. So much fun!

It was such a great game! The Diamondbacks won!!! And after the game the rooftop of the stadium slid open to reveal a 15-minute fireworks display. Awesome!!! After 10-minutes we decided to get a head start to our car which was a really good call (parking issues down there are not for the impatient kind!). Here's a shot of fireworks outside the stadium as we were headed toward the parking garage...



We wrapped up our weekend yesterday with house hunting - saw a couple of houses with one being a good possibility. We'll see...
 
And I did a little more of this...  :o)
 

I love a three-day weekend, but it is weird to have had the day off on Friday instead of Monday this time around. Makes for a kind of weird transition back to work today. ~sigh~

Anyway. That's life in the big city. I hope your weekends were as fun as ours was! I'm off to work my way toward the next one.

Wishing you all a great week ahead!
xoxox

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Mandala Zipper Pouch

Hey, guess what!
I made something!
Big surprise: it includes a mandala.
:o)
I needed a little zipper bag for my colored pencils and other mandala drawing supplies, so I made this bag back in April. I am finally getting around to sharing it here on my blog!


I have some decent sized scraps of canvas fabric, so I cut a piece to size for the bag I was making. For the mandala, I cut a large circle template from a piece of cardstock and folded it a few times to make my grid lines. Then I traced it onto a piece of canvas fabric already cut to size for the bag I was making.


I used Sharpie markers to draw directly onto the fabric. I found that it was best to keep the pen moving, otherwise the ink would soak in and bleed into the fabric.


Then I stitched it up. {There are all kinds of online tutorials for making zipper pouches. I found this one for you in case you'd like to try.} My bag is lined with muslin - here's what the inside looks like...


And the back side of the bag...


And the bag in use...


Have you discovered the beauty of drawing mandalas?
You can see my simple mandala tutorial here.
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