The List of 100 Things To Do

i saw a link to this in my sister-in-law's blog, and thought, what the heck, i will give it a try. if you are interested in this, go here to life's lists and give it a shot. it is a very interesting exercise and really causes you to think. so here is mine. And I am tagging anyone brave enough to do this! Put a link up so I can see yours too!

100 things to do...........

1. go to ireland
2. go to australia/new zealand
3. cruise alaska
4. see the cliffs of maine and oregon
5. see the grand canyon
6. have my art published
7. write my book
8. present as keynote speaker at one national conference
9. raise my children to be happy
10. to have a healthy relationship with my mother
11. meet my nephew
12. to be closer to my siblings
13. to learn how to take great photos
14. to take voice lessons
15. to make my husband smile everyday
16. to have a pet that my husband and i both love
17. to lose 75 pounds
18. to do the AVON 3 day breast cancer walk/run
19. to learn to read music
20. to learn how to play the guitar
21. to go an artist retreat
22. host a woman's retreat
23. to live at the beach
24. learn how to like housekeeping
25. learn how to ride a horse
26. take cooking classes
27. learn how to meditate
28. take yoga classes and stick with it
29. dance in a competition with my husband
30. take my daughter to italy before venice sinks
31. snorkle the great barrier reef
32. find the church to belong to
33. sing in the choir again
34. learn to spell without spell check
35. serve on a board for an organization that truely makes a difference
36. create a scholarship fund to send a single mom to college
37. make jewelry out of sea glass i find at the beaches i visit
38. grow a garden and eat what i grow
39. grow flowers and not kill them
40. be in a book club
41. volunteer at an animal shelter
42. work on a habitat for humanity house
43. decorate for christmas
44. get a hot stone massage
45. clean a river or stream
46. try snow skiing
47. keep a journal and work in it everyday
48. make handmade cards and send them often
49. keep my blog up to date and link it to others that i admire
50. chase a tornado
51. sketch in my journal frequently
52. run for public office
53. volunteer to be a big sister
54. be able to run 5 miles
55. find out my natural hair color and wear it proudly (gray and all)
56. save for retirement
57. be completely debt free
58. learn to make stained glass like my dad
59. learn calligraphy and use it
60. look through a really good telescope at the night sky
61. be the mother my children deserve
62. be the wife my husband deserves
63. to be able to look in the mirror and not critize myself
64. go on a trip with my best female friends
65. make amends to the people i have hurt on my journey to self-acceptance
66. to stop worrying so much about stuff i can't control
67. refinsh an antique piece of furniture
68. be the "really cool aunt" that the nieces and nephews want to come and spend a week with every summer
69. get my nose pierced
70. alter and wear my own clothes.....proudly
71. fill up my iPod with all kinds of music and books
72. write music again and record it
73. write down the toosie bear stories my grandmother and mother told
74. be able to be in the same room with my ex without it damaging me
75. own a really cool car that i bought myself
76. be a grandmother (a wonderful grandmother)
77. be a great grandmother
78. learn to suba dive
79. swim with dolphins
80. never to smoke again for any reason whatsoever
81. study other religons
82. sew a quilt by hand that can be handed down to my kids
83. organize and date all photos
84. wear a two piece swim suit with confidence
85. forgive myself for the mistakes i have made and move forward
86. learn to can veggies
87. learn to bake homemade bread that taste like my step mom's
88. get another tattoo
89. sleep on a beach and watch the sun rise with my husband
90. road trip cross country with my husband (preferably in a camper, one of the big one's that is popular among the retired crowd)
91. develop a sixth sense
92. do something scarey like parasailing, zip line in the jungle or driving a race car at over 100 miles per hour
93. get a tummy tuck to get rid of the ugly stuff left behind from all of the abdominal surgeries
94. learn to draw and paint
95. declutter my house and get rid of stuff that no longer serves a purpose
96. take golf lessons
97. sing in a band
98. see the mediteranian sea and greece
99. fly in a jet or a two seater plane or a hot air balloon
100. learn to live in the moment
these are in no particular order. like i said, this was a fun exercise and i learned a lot about myself. i will update when i can cross one off of the list.

better today

yesterday i did manage to get my report done, get my daughter to her soccer game, and get some other work done. did i get all of my unfinished things done? no. do i feel better about stuff today. it is still raining, and i love it. i have been looking through teesha moore's zine called "play". i ordered some back issues, and i did snuggle down and lose myself in this incredible zine. oh my, just what I needed to get over myself. i have been afraid to start the collage process in my journal, but now, i see you just have to do it. thanks teesha for the inspiration and support you offer in your zine. for those of us that tend to freeze up because we are afraid that we won't "do it right" your zine is just what we need. you need to go to Zettiology and explore. when i ordered the back issues of play, she also sent me some great unmounted rubber stamps. oh i can't wait to play! i will need to order more. well, i have some work to do, but then i may finish the studio. the kids get out of school early today, so i will not have much time to get my work done, so i better start now. i do find that writting in my blog is like therapy. if i start my day, or finish my day by writting, then i seem to do better.

things half done

i don't want to work today. it is rainey and overcast and i should be wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea looking through art zines and playing in my journal. i don't want to write reports, research grants or create invoices for the work i have done. i want to crawl into my studio and play with paints and ink and write in my journal with the iPod playing cool jazz music in the background.

i don't want to finish all of the half done things. the studio is so close to being done, but i can't seem to find the motivation to finish the last box of "other" stuff, the little stuff that doesn't really seem to fit into any category. i don't want to finish the last bit of work that would clean out several projects. i don't want to put away the folded clothes sitting on the bench in my room. i don't want to input the receipts that would update my book keeping. i don't want to read the last few chapters that would finish the book i am reading. what is wrong with me? i am so close to finishing so many things, and i want to finish them, but not today. today i want to curl up and watch movies, surf the internet and visit art sites and catch up on the art blogs i haven't been able to read in forever. i want to order pizza and not make dinner. i don't want to take the kids to the soccer game and pick them up. i would rather take a long hot bath and eat chocolate.

maybe it is the weather, maybe it is the traveling i have done, maybe i am just lazy, but i want to stay home and not move from the sofa. the perfect day, snuggled down under a quilt, drinking tea, watching scarey movies and surfing the net (and eating chocolate, can't forget the chocolate).

i am not complaining, not really, i have to do the one report, and i have to spend some more time on the grant research, and i have to take the kids to the soccer game (they really want to support the varsity team at the sectional championship game and they should). so no snuggling down, no scarey movies, no tea, no surfing the internet, no playing with the photoshop software today. but there is always tomorrow!

Musings from the road!

Here I am, on the road again............

my hubby told me when i am traveling for work i should take some time out for me. so, i stopped at some antique stores on my road trip. i found some great 1940's and 1950's LIFE magazines with great old ads in them (i use these for my altered art and charms for my bracelets). i also found a bunch of great old spoons, again for altered art and for making jewelry. the stuff i get is not extremely costly, i don't buy antique furniture or anything really expensive, just little stuff that tickles my fancy! i also found a bunch of old postcards and some game pieces. i know, like i need anything else to put into my art studio. but hey, i cleaned out a lot of stuff! more room for more stuff (jeez, i have used the word "stuff" so much i feel like george carlin). my art is taking on a more sophisticated form, so i am getting rid of all of the kid things from when my children were younger and getting different items so I can explore new art techniques. it is fun, and keeps me out of trouble. i have to admit, searching through piles of old books, and magazines, and jewelry, and silverware, well you get the picture, it is relaxing, and really gets the creative juices flowing.

when i look through the antique stores, i can't help but wonder who owned this stuff, was it important to them,, what is the story behind the item? this is why i can't buy old photographs, i can't help but think there is some great grandchild out there somewhere who would love to have just one picture of their long gone relative.

don't get me wrong, i love going to estate sales, and antique stores, and flea markets, but i also find it a little sad. the china, the silverware, the books and letters and photos. why are these not being passed down through someone's family? why did they have to sell there worldly possessions to strangers? just thinking out loud, hope the rambling isn't too hard to follow. well, i think i will go out to the car and get the magazines and start looking through them. i may sell some of the ones i don't need (or swap them) so someone else can enjoy them. i will write more later.

Wow, SuziBlue

SuziBlu

Just go here, just watch this. I gotta figure out how to put video's onto the blog. I am really inpspired by her videos. Just what I need to get going and start back in my journal. Thand Suzi!

Altered Photos for the First Time

I took some pictures tonight and used a very basic photo editing program to alter them. I ordered some back issues of Portals Zine (and I am hooked, I need more) and saw some altered photographs, and wanted to try. Unfortunately, now I am probably going to have to invest in some good photo editing software, like Adobe Photo Shop. And that is expensive. I will look into it though. Just thought I would post my first attempts. Enjoy.

New Etsy Store and Item for Sale

OK, I am taking the plunge like other artits, and I have created an Etsy store to sell my goods. In fact, I am even having a banner made, and as soon as she is done I will have it up on this site, and in my Etsy store. I will also have her link on this site so others can use her great work for thier sites! Anyway, here is my first item I have for sell. I have sold stuff on eBay, and I have some beads and stuff listed there, a few other bracelets, but I am trying to brand my work, so I took the plunge to have a real "store". I welcome feedback on my work. Thanks for looking!