Weekend Fun

Your Personal Reflection:  How are you celebrating the season where you live?

Reason to Celebrate

I was introduced to the coolest IPhone app this week called Hipstamatic.  These photos were all taken on my phone and there was no need to edit or alter them, because this app did it for me.  It is such a fun toy.

This first photo is taken from my perspective, looking down at Kestan. Yes, that is my belly.  Yes, there is a baby in there. Yes, Kestan is trying to see the baby.

"I want to see my baby."

"I want to kiss my baby."

"I want to tickle my baby!"

I thought it was appropriate to share my exciting news with you as I celebrate my 100th blog post.  In honor of baby #2, I feel a gift is in order!

Along with making a baby human, I'm also creating a new e-course that I'll be launching in a few short months.  Would you like to enter for a chance to win a spot?  I can't tell you what it is yet, but I'll give you a hint - it's fun, it's playful, it's creative, it's messy and it will be a great way to enjoy the lazy, breezy days of summer.  (I also plan on announcing Inside Out e-course dates soon.)

To enter:  Leave a comment on this post by, Sunday, April 18th.

Your Personal Reflection:  What's your reason to celebrate today? 

Celebrating Our Trip in Pictures

Your Personal Reflection:  What are YOU celebrating today?

(*Many photos courtesy of my hubby, Chris Duh.)

12 Personal Highlights from the Past 12 Months

1) Intentions: I set an intention for 2009 to live my life more boldly, fully and freely. (I also started my blog and joined Twitter to share, connect, and grow with other free spirits.)

2) Celebrations: I honored Kestan on his big, first birthday,

and celebrated 6 years of marriage to this awesome guy.

3) Gained Insight: I learned a great lesson on this wonderful, summer day, from my sweet little boy, about Going Shoeless.  I also reread Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, and listened to his podcasts. I discovered Oprah's Soul Series, and enjoyed the teachings of Wayne Dyer, Rev. Ed Bacon, Elizabeth Lesser, and so many others.

4) Wellness:  Enjoyed abundant tomatoes in our garden, perfected my hummus recipe, and experimented with gluten-free cooking.  Loved dancing at Zumba each week and occasionally hit a yoga class.

5) Inspiration: I had the privilege of participating in some amazing on-line courses that made me see things in a new way. From Elise's Get Crafty class, I was reminded to see the special details in the everyday. In Lisa's Visual Journals workshop, I was reminded how journaling has always been a huge part of my life and creative process, and her insight helped me embrace myself as an entrepreneur.  SARK's Juicy Journaling simply reminded me just how much I love SARK.  She has always been a source of inspiration to me. In fact, for years, I used to say, "I want to live a SARK lifestyle."  (Like keeping time by the amount of tea cups you've used, or taking naps every day!)  I actually started living the lifestyle I've always dreamed of, and SARK is one person who's helped me get there.  (During her course, I got to personally thank her, which was a very special moment for me.)

 

6) Risk-Taking:  I left a consistently paying job to become a stay-at-home and work-from-home mom.  Getting my Iphone allowed me to go mobile.  I was able to keep Kestan out of daycare and merge my personal career goals with being a hands-on mommy.

 

7) Pure Love:  In October, we celebrated my gorgeous sister's magical marriage ceremony to her wonderful husband, Matt.  My husband took the photos, my brother's band played the music, and many family and friends lent their helping hands.  It truly was a family affair, and the most beautiful celebration of what it means to love another.

8) Creativity:  Enjoyed a creatively inspiring month of making art EVERY day, and joined the Create Every Day group for next year.  I reconnected to a deep longing to paint.  It was a transformative experience for me, one that opened my heart and reminded me what it means to trust.  Thanks, Leah!

9) Abundance:  I started my Etsy shop. (and made some sales!)

10) Connection:  I created, developed and opened registration for my first ever e-course:  Inside Out - A Creative Adventure of Self-Discovery. This is a whole new journey for me, one that makes me feel as though every cell in my body is radiating with excitement and happiness. (And, a little scary, too!)

11) Joy:  The joy I feel about being a mother is somewhat indescribable.  What I can say is that spending the days with my little guy is a great gift.  I am full of gratitude for an amazing holiday season, with Kestan's first knowledge of "anta, and more snow than we've had in years - sledding and snowman making galore!  Watching him grow is like Christmas everyday.

12) Space: I introduced Reduce Clutter; Create Space 2010 and was overwhelmed by the response from other like-minded souls who want to take this journey with me.  I invite this new year, as a year to simplify, to reduce, and to make S P A C E for what's most important.

Whoa.  It's been a big year.  Now, I sit back.  I take a big breath.  I exhale fully and smile.  And, now it seems, a nap is a really good idea.

Happy new year to each of you!

Your Personal Reflection: What are YOUR highlights and celebrations of this past year? 

Time for Celebration and Renewal

Here we are, the week before Christmas, and a time for celebration! If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today marks the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. For many of us, we're moving into colder weather, however, the solstice reminds us that the daylight will gradually increase, and the warmth will one day return.

In the meantime, though, winter is a season that invites us to embrace solitude. It's a time to slow down, snuggle up and stay in, and it offers us a beautiful opportunity for internal reflection and deep renewal.

I have been feeling incredibly busy over the last several weeks, especially after opening registration for my e-course. I am still finalizing many details for the class, and the fact that it all hits around the holidays and new years (not to mention my entire families birthdays!), I've definitely been feeling the stress.

So to honor this new season, and my deep desire of wanting to be present for the holidays, I've decided to take one week off from my blog (and reading blogs!). My intention is to "create space". (In fact, "creating space" is going to be my theme for this next year, and I'll share more about that when I return!) For me, in order to make space for something, I have to let another thing go. I need to make space for my journal, to reflect on the past year, and to get grounded for the new year. I need to make space for family connections. I need to make space for play. Letting go of Internet writing and reading for one week will help me create some much needed space for the things I need most right now. Ahhh, I'm already feeling less stressed just typing these words.

The best thing we can do for ourselves in celebration of the solstice and the holiday season is to connect to our inner stillness, for it is in the stillness that we can more clearly see where we want to go in the future. This is a great place to be as we prepare for 2010.

So bye-bye blog world for the week. I have so much gratitude in my heart, and I'm especially grateful for each of you. Thank you for visiting. I wish you a mindful, peaceful and super-fly fun holiday!

Feel free to leave a comment and share:

Your Personal Reflection: How will you celebrate the holidays? What are you grateful for? Do you have enough space in your life that allows you to connect to your inner stillness? How will you prepare for the new year?

Celebrating Peace

To celebrate my mom's birthday this past weekend I took her to a Holly Near concert. Wow! I was so impressed. I've heard Holly's name throughout my childhood, as she has always been a source of inspiration to my mom. My mom discovered her in the 70's when she was in college. She has vivid memories of meeting a woman named Nancy - this cool, women's lib hippie, who didn't shave her legs. She introduced my sweet mom - an innocent, catholic girl from Des Moines, Iowa, to the powerful, empowering music, that activist, teacher and song-writer, Holly Near is known for. Hearing the message of independence and strength in Holly's music had a lasting impression for my mom.

So, what a fun experience for my mom to get to meet Holly, 30 plus years later, with her adult daughter. Holly is on tour with Emma's Revolution, a duo that reminds me of the Indigo Girls. Their harmonies give you goose bumps, their stories inspire you to take action, and these three women are sharing their folksy, musical talents in the name of PEACE.
I encourage you to take a listen to these incredible voices. Here are some YouTube links (listen to the lyrics! I Ain't Afraid, Gentle Angry People, We Believe in Peace, Fired Up) And remember, that you too, have a unique voice that needs to be heard. So awaken, arise and be willing to celebrate your courage, to honor your strength, and to do your part to be of service to others.

Thank you Holly, Emma's Revolution and mom for a memorable evening.

******
The following excerpt comes from Holly's biography:

I do not separate my music from my heart nor do I separate my ideas from my daily life. I open my self up to learning as much as I can about humanity and this mysterious life experience, but I do not relate to political work as a series of "causes." Moment by moment, I integrate what I learn into my personal life, personalizing my politics. It is from this personal place that I write my songs. -Holly Near

Your Personal Reflection: Are you OPEN to learning as much as possible, about yourself, and about life? How can you integrate what you learn each day, into your personal life, and how can you use what you learn to help others? Be at peace, now, and share that peace with all those you meet.