Bye Bye Winter; Bring on Spring!

I know it's a little early for a post about spring, as the new season is officially 25 days away, but I'm so ready for it.  It has been an unbelievable winter in the Midwest, with a white landscape of snow for months.  I've really enjoyed the incubation period of long days at home, staying in pajamas,  afternoon naps and snuggly evenings with the boys.

But I'm ready.  I'm ready for sun.  I'm ready to feel the heat.  I'm ready to play outside and reconnect to nature.  I'm ready for new things to grow and bloom.  I'm ready to say goodbye to winter.

To help us all prepare for a healthy and vibrant spring, I want to share with you an article I wrote last year entitled:


Spring into Action: Tips for Cultivating a Healthier Life
With spring comes excitement and fresh new energy.  Spring activity offers us endless possibilities for new beginnings.  Spring is a time to plant seeds and tend to the garden. What happens if we simply throw seeds in the yard without taking necessary steps to help them grow?  Most likely, those seeds won't get the best chance to become healthy, strong, and fully developed. This same idea can be applied to our own lives. If we think of our life as the garden and ourselves as the seed, we can take action to cultivate a life that will thrive and flourish.

Make Space for Rich Soil
Getting rid of the weeds, clearing space and starting with good soil is key to growing a healthy garden.  This is also true when looking at our own lives.  Ask yourself: What am I ready to let go of - physically, mentally and emotionally, that no longer serves a purpose in my life?

Nourish the Seeds
New seedlings have a hard time flourishing without valuable substances like water, sunlight, and care.  Ensure that you get the proper nourishment by taking the best care of YOU.  Ask yourself:  What truly feeds my soul?

Check Your Garden Daily
Caring for the garden each day will help you assess the growth. Self-reflection and maintaining your well-being takes daily practice. Ask yourself:  What are my accomplishments and celebrations, and what changes can I make today to live more fully?

Here are 7 tips for creating the best growing conditions for a healthy start to your spring.

Tip #1: Reduce Clutter
Clear your closets and recycle items that are taking up space.  My husband and I continue to clear piles of stuff from our house and although it's hard work, little by little we are making progress and it feels amazing!  We both notice feeling lighter and happier.  If this task feels too overwhelming at first, find support.  Sometimes our gardens are too big to conquer alone!

Tip #2: Find Stillness
When our thoughts are scattered, it is hard to find peace of mind.  Try yoga, take a walk, limit TV, soak in the tub, sit quietly, or meditate.  Even if it's only five minutes a day, it is in this stillness that our true nature will emerge.

Tip #3: Sleep more
Finding anyone who gets enough sleep is pretty rare; yet good sleep is vital to our overall well-being.  (Ever since I became a mom, I'm still working on this one!)  Go to bed earlier and wake up a little earlier.  You will find this helps you sleep better and will help give you a smoother start to your day.

Tip #4: Breathe Deeply
Better breathing has an amazing cleansing effect and will reduce both physical and mental stress. Sit comfortably.  Close your eyes.  Take a deep, slow inhale through your nose, open your mouth, and fully exhale.  Repeat several times.  Sit quietly and ahhh...enjoy how you feel.

Tip #5: Enjoy Nature
Fresh air and sunshine are the most natural healing elements and what better way to enjoy the outdoors then by doing a fun activity; walking, running, biking, hiking (or gardening!) will help you feel more energized.  Or, since the snow is still on the ground...sledding anyone?

Tip #6: Journal
Writing your thoughts is a powerful way to gain clarity and is very freeing.  A journal offers a safe place where you can share your true feelings, explore your dreams and find the wisdom it takes to make those dreams a reality.

Tip #7: Create Daily
Each of us is born with the innate ability to create.  Most adults I meet actually believe they aren't creative.  This just isn't true!  Your creative energy needs a way to express itself.  Try a new activity that makes you feel creatively alive and inspired.

Implementing just a few of these tips, slowly and with kindness, will enrich your life and help produce rewarding results.  Enjoy preparing for spring and happy growing!

Your Personal Reflection: What can you start doing, now, to invite new beginnings into your life?

A Mama's Gotta Do What a Mama's Gotta Do

Here's what I worked on today for Creative Every Day.  I'm having fun playing with my new iMovie program.  Check out my brother, Jeff Kinney's, new site.  He's an amazing singer/songwriter and the one playing this awesome tune.

This Adventure Called Life

"I am an artist."  It took me years before I could say that without cringing or laughing, or feeling just plain weird about it.  I can now say it with confidence.  I can also say that I am actually living, for the first time, the life I've imagined.

It's taken me years to get to this place.  I'm the happiest I've ever been.  But believe me, it hasn't come without struggle. Over 10 years ago, I was living in Boulder, Colorado, surrounded by the most amazing nature.  To this day, I still get so much of my inspiration from the mountains.  I can smell a ponderosa pine and feel like I've just gone to heaven.  When I was living there, I was struggling to find my place in the world. I didn't really know what to do with myself and my mantra was, "I'm not good at anything."  Then, a beautiful soul entered my life and she introduced me to The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron.

We gathered 5 amazing women, and for twelve weeks, we dove deeply into the book.  Every week we took turns leading each other in creative experiences.  Sometimes we felt vulnerable.  Sometimes our fears and worries were exposed. Many times we discovered new things about ourselves.  Things we liked. Things we didn't. And the community we built together changed ALL of us.

It took a lot of practice, but soon, my "not good at anything" mantra changed.  I started believing in myself, and discovered a whole new world of expansion and endless possibilities.  Ultimately, I learned to open my heart and TRUST my intuition.

This trust led me down a new path.  I moved back to the Midwest.  A 5-year relationship came to an end.  I dove deeply into all forms of creative expression.  I journaled like crazy.  I discovered yoga and meditation.

I've been teaching yoga for over 9-years and have embraced it as part of my lifestyle.  For me, yoga is about celebrating the present moment, connecting more deeply to my heart center, and living life with compassion.

Practicing yoga has taught be that I am the creator of my own life.  I now know that everything in my external world is a reflection of my internal world.  So the more I take time to journey within, the more peaceful and happier I feel.  Believing this has led me to some bigger, more recent changes, like leaving a job with a consistent paycheck, to run my own business, and stay home with my son.

I truly believe that we ALL deserve happiness.  We ALL are creative beings.  We ALL have the potential to live more fully, boldly and freely.  And, the more I learn and grow, the more I want to share with others.

The e-course I've created, Inside Out: A Creative Adventure of Self-Discovery is a culmination of my life's searching, reflecting, exploring and discovering.  I've combined my love and appreciation for the creative process, art, writing, journaling, yoga and meditation, into this course as tools for self-awakening.  I know from experience that only so much can change when we start externally. The real change, the deep change, the ever-lasting change - the kind that breaks cycles, and thought patterns, and self-sabotaging behaviors - happens when we start from the INSIDE, and work OUT.

I am an artist.  I am a yoga teacher.  I am a creativity coach.  I am a mom.  I am an explorer.  But mostly, I just AM.  I am a student of life, and I'm so excited to share my journey with you.

I have extreme enthusiasm to meet you and to learn about your journey...

Your Personal Reflection:  Are you ready to create the life you love, from the Inside Out?
(psst...My course starts Monday, January 18th!)

With Gratitude, I Paint (ouch!)

So I mentioned that I had a little "spill" the other night.  Well, as my brother puts it, I basically karate-chopped a balloon, and let's just say the balloon won.  These socks are the culprit, I tell you!  Note to self: If you ever feel the urge to jump high off the ground to kick a birthday balloon into oblivion, than please do NOT do it wearing these socks on slippery hardwood floors again.  Ever.  Your butt thanks you.

My crash landing resulted in an extremely bruised tailbone and two sore wrists. And I'm talking really sore.  Like, I couldn't even squeeze out toothpaste, or brush my hair, or change a diaper (although, I didn't miss that as much). I haven't experienced that kind of physical pain since a ski accident several years ago.

The reason I'm telling you this is that I have discovered a whole new respect for my wrists.  These little joints do so much activity in one day, and I've never paid much attention to them. So I find it appropriate that the Creative Every Day theme for January happens to be about the "body."  I couldn't resist doing a quick journal page to pay respect and tribute to my wrists.  I have learned that they pull, twist, turn, hug, lift, love, express, reach, expand, dance, hold and help me move through my day with ease.

I celebrate you, wrists, and thank you for ALL you do for me.  Happy healing.

Your Personal Reflection: When's the last time you really noticed all the amazing, subtle things your body does on a daily basis?  Take some time to be present, to notice, and to deeply look at your body.  Go ahead...no one's watching...give yourself a hug and tell your body "thanks!"

Creativity Emerges When the S P A C E Allows

What a beautiful concept - to be creative EVERY day. Thanks, Leah, for the continued inspiration. I truly believe that each of us are creative, that we are here to create, and that we have a responsibility to be the creators of our own lives.

Too often I meet people who say, "I'm not creative. I can't even draw a straight line. Making art is just for kids." WHAT? Why do we sell ourselves short? Why do we keep ourselves small? Why do we set such limitations and restrictions, to the point where we don't know how to play anymore? Why can't we call ourselves artists? How do we get to the place where we become complacent and accept "what is" rather than "what could be"? We all can create a life that is beyond our imaginations - a life that we truly LOVE.

I can relate to many of these limiting thoughts, and for years I couldn't call myself "creative" or "an artist". Now, I find myself in a place where I can loudly say, "I AM AN ARTIST!" and I feel that my heart is more open than ever before. (To learn more about my creative journey, visit here.)Yesterday, my creative inspiration was sparked by my de-clutter December project. The clearing bug has such a hold on me that I don't want to bring another thing into this house! So when I ran out of wrapping paper I quickly realized that I had to think up another solution because I was not going to run out and buy more!

A bag of potatoes, a brown grocery bag - and an idea was born.

How to Make Personalized Recycled Wrapping Paper

Supplies:

* paper bags

* potato

* scissors

* kitchen knife

* paint & brush

Cut the bottom of the bag and open the paper flat on your table. Cut a potato in half and use the knife to carve out your image. This will create your stamp. As you can see I chose hearts and trees, but use your imagination to think up other fun designs (i.e. variety of circles, stars etc.)

Add the paint directly to your potato stamp. Press the stamp firmly on your paper. I chose to be random with the placement, however, you may choose to create patterns.
I love how the packages turned out! I'm so grateful that my de-cluttering continues to free up energy for new creative inspiration.

I also want to give a big shout out THANK YOU to Suzy, at Hip Mountain Mama, for interviewing me for her blog this past week. She is SO awesome and you must check out her "One Small Change" recycling project.

Your Personal Reflection: What positive changes do you experience when you de-clutter? What creative recycling can you do as you celebrate the holidays this season? What is one small thing you can do, today, to nurture your creativity?