Cleaning Out or Cleaning Up

This week has been my cleaning week for the craft room. Okay not only cleaning but organizing. My craft items have somehow managed to escape their room and have overflowed into the hall, the living room and the garage. If it is in the garage, it may just have to live there for awhile.  Ugg. What to do now? So, I'm consolidating boxes of wire and beads and other craft supplies into my cabinets and labeling. The problem is when I see something and it spurs an idea to make something else. That was my problem yesterday. I found an old necklace that hadn't sold and decided that I just had to remake it into a double strand bracelet. After getting it all torn apart and organized, I came to my senses and started putting all the beads into their respective containers to work on another day.

So, this morning while reading blogs and drinking my coffee I had this idea for an inspiration board that I could post in my craft room. Problem is my craft room doesn't have any walls available to hang anything. I can just envision these boards with beading and crafting ideas posted all over them just waiting for me to have time to make them. I have a couple of memory boards that would be just perfect. Maybe I can get them to hang on the brick wall behind my table. I've never tried to hang anything on brick, maybe I'll google it and see how it could be done.

Okay, that's all for me this morning, I have work in that endless pit of a craft room. I hope everyone has a great day.

Inspirational Message

Today is supposed to be my inspirational message to the masses, but I find myself uninspired at the moment, so I'll discuss a few changes that my husband and I will be making in order to get our health in line.

For a couple of years now, his doctor and mine have told us that we need to lose weight, watch for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I find that in a couple of weeks I will have more time to plan our meals and ensure that we are on track. His preference is the Adkins type of high protein diet and mine is a more balanced (Zone plan) type approach, so it will be interesting combining the two for a lifetime healthy alternative. I don't mind Adkins so much, but most people don't eat enough veggies and overload on the high fat proteins, so the meals that I plan will be high in vegetables with a salad at every meal and leaner cuts of meat.

So yesterday was day 1 and we made it through and today day 2. Today we didn't do as well as we should have since we didn't eat the recommended snacks and by the time dinner was ready we were starving....we won't do that again.

Day 1 Menu

Breakfast

Adkins drink mix

Coffee (I can't give this up)

Lunch

Salad with Tuna, Cottage Cheese

1/2 cup Mandarin orange slices

Dinner

Salmon Burger

Snack

Protein Smoothie w/Strawberries

Day 2 Menu (not the best food day)

Breakfast

2 Eggs

1 slice toast

Coffee w/milk

Lunch - (none, that was the bad part)

Dinner

4 oz. Steak trimmed of fat

1/4 baked potato

1/2 cup green beans

Mixed Salad

Snack

Cottage w/pineapple chunks

We will see how it goes this week, and I'll report back next Sunday.

Sunday Inspiration

Today was my inspiration day to work in my craft room creating a few more necklaces. A two of these will be posted to my 1000 Markets site and the other two will be taking to the Salon consignment.

Three of the necklaces are extra long so that they can be doubled, the other is 17" on sterling silver with stones and chain that match a bracelet already posted in my 1000 Markets shop and earrings in the same champagne quartz. The blue necklace and earring set also matches a bracelet in my shop. Click on either of the word bracelet to see the items. Yes, the earrings are one of my new designs that I mentioned in a previous post.

Hope you had an inspiring day and I'll be back tomorrow with another fantastic craft how to.

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that brings us joy. A really good creamy bar of chocolate, a nap on a rainy afternoon, a walk in the park with the dogs, a blooming cherry tree, a cup of coffee with real cream, comfort food in the form of chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes (yes this is a family thing) and spending time with my husband.

In a study commissioned by the National Lottery, Dr Richard Tunney of the University’s School of Psychology found that it’s the simple things in life that impact most positively on our sense of well being.

The study compared the ‘happiness levels’ of lottery jackpot winners with a control group, using a ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’ developed by the University of Illinois. Respondents were asked how satisfied they were in relation to different elements of their life, their different mood states explored, how often they treated themselves and what form this took.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the flashy cars and diamond jewellery that upped the jackpot winners’ happiness quotient. It was the listening to music, reading a book, or enjoying a bottle of wine with a takeaway that really made the difference.

Dr Tunney said: “Modern-day pressures take their toll on everyday happiness. As a result we try to make ourselves feel better and happier through personal rewards and treats. We’ve all heard the saying ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’, and treating yourself is the ideal way to keep spirits lifted when you’re down in the dumps.

So, enjoy life as it is presented to you today. Find something simple that will make your day joyful or plan something special for someone else. Giving to someone most often brings us greater joy than receiving.

Words to Live By

Just for today do not worry
Just for today do not anger

Honor your parents teachers and elders

Earn your living honestly

Show graditude to every Living thing

As the mantra suggests, live each today for today, don't worry about tomorrow. I believe we have enough worries in our life, so I would also add to only worry about those things you have control over and then don't worry about them, fix them.

Happy Mother's Day and Have a great day.

Paper Cuts

Our City Arts magazine featured local artist Nikki McClure in their January 2009 issue. Nikki is a self taught artist making calendars and illustrating children’s books for ten years. Her art is in using an X-Acto knife and paper, cutting images of everyday life. Nikki indicates in the interview that "My work is very much based in reality. I’m not one to draw my dreams or anything. Its kinda nature porn." I find inspiration in some of the simple images of trees, leaves and children. Art is everywhere and in all communities we only have to look for it. Find your inspiration and absorb art.

If you would like to read about Nikki and her rise from punk performer with Nirvana to artist and book illustrator, please visit her web site. http://www.nikkimcclure.com/. I find the simple images reassuring.

My friend, we will call her J..., just loves crows and Nikki's work reminds me of her. This one's for you...caw. caw..