the power of words

Do you remember what your word was for last year?

Mine was FAITH.

When I chose it at the beginning of  2011 I didn't realize how significant this word would be as the year unfolded. I don't think I have settled on my word for this year. But I recently heard something that I thought was very inspiring and I just wanted to share it with you.

I have been watching a lot of Anderson Cooper's new talk show. He seems to always have interesting topics and yes I'll admit I think he's sort of cute. Last week his guest was designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt who I didn't realize, is also his mom.

It was a great show and I became really captivated by this 87 year old woman who led and continues to lead such a fascinating life. She is of course part of the great Vanderbilt dynasty, so she lived a life of privilege and wealth. But she has also experienced great lose and tragedy from the time she was a little girl.

What's amazing is that she continues to have a positive outlook on life and still believes her next great love is just around the corner. Near the end of the show she shared her favorite saying which is

"We are not put on this earth

to see through each other.

We are put on this earth

to see each other through."

This really touched me and I thought what a wonderful thing it would be if we could all remind ourselves of this every now and then. I know I am guilty of becoming too caught up in my own personal drama that I sometimes have a hard time seeing beyond my own myopic world. Especially in situations where I feel someone's thoughtlessness caused me pain. It's very easy for me to let tunnel vision set in.

But if I can step away from my emotions and see that there is always a lesson to be learned from all of my experiences, I think I might be able to appreciate the reason why different people are put into my life. From the most casual of friends (and adversaries) to the person I chose to marry.

It's so easy for us to see right through another person in a way that we don't fully appreciate the value of our relationship with them no matter how small or how brief. And instead of focusing so much on how someone can't always meet our needs, maybe we can focus on helping that person get through whatever challenges they might be having. I know this often takes much more effort but I've learned that being stuck in a negative place only kills my spirit in the end.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what Gloria Vanderbilt meant but that's what it means to me and it's something I want to remember as I try to strengthen the relationships in my life. Perspective is sometimes all it takes to turn any situation around.

Thank you Gloria for the gift of these words.


See Gloria Vanderbilt's works of art here.

Have you decided on your word for 2012?

Do you have a favorite quote to inspire you this year?

Hope you're having a beautiful week so far.

stepping into 2012

A brand new year again.

I looked forward to this one more than many other years in the past. 2011 was a curiously challenging year for me in so many ways. Lessons learned, wisdom gained and a sweet soul lost. I gave up making New Year resolutions a while ago but this year I truly committed to starting fresh.

While I was away from my blog for a few months I set a goal for myself to get healthy again. And instead of waiting until the new year I just laced up my shoes and started in Fall. I found that doing aerobics really helped me work out the stress from all my personal drama and the more I did it the more I loved it. The workouts also got me walking again and now I can even run.

I can walk 4-5 miles and run part of it. And I can fit into clothes that I tucked away in the back of my closet a while back. But the best part is that I'm also getting my son to get healthy and fit which was something that really concerned me the last few years. He even watches Dr. Oz with me and helps me pick healthy recipes to try out. And since my husband already started on the fitness kick about a year ago we now have something we can all do together.

There are still challenges in our relationship but we are learning the art of communicating, patience and forgiveness. Things that often times don't come naturally to me when it comes to our marriage. Trust me, my husband made it nearly impossible for me to practice these sometimes and this past year he was unforgivably rotten. But each day we can choose to be better people and that has made all the difference. Somehow I have to trust that the universe must have something extraordinary planned for me, after all I have been blessed with a truly amazing son.

December was also filled with some sadness for me, just like another December two years ago when I lost my dear kitty Kushka.

LaLou, the beautiful smoky gray kitty from next door practically lived in my backyard the last 3 years. In fact she didn't really belong to my neighbor either. She just wandered over there one night and decided to stay. Neither of us knew where she came from. My neighbor gave her food and shelter but LaLou was free to come and go so we sort of shared her in a way. He named her Smoky but I called her LaLou because that was the sound she made when she meowed.

When I lost my Kushka to cancer 2 years ago it was LaLou's visits that cheered me up everyday. I seriously thought about keeping her for myself but in the end I think she enjoyed the freedom of being able to go wherever she wanted. I always secretly thought that she liked me the most anyway.

Sadly she became very sick the end of last year and my neighbor decided it was best not to let her suffer. Even as she was getting weaker LaLou still came to see me as much as she could and I would sit with her in a little patch of sunlight under our plum tree. She was a part of my witches tea parties both years and my Luna and I eagerly looked forward to her daily visits.

It breaks my heart to see Luna looking out the window waiting for her friend. And everyday I still look under the plum tree and I quietly say hello to LaLou because I know in my heart that she still comes back to visit her favorite spot. She was such a special, beautiful little girl and I will miss her very much.

But I also know she's with all the beautiful fury girls that have been a special part of my life over the years. All dearly missed and always always eternally loved.

So here I am eagerly stepping away from 2011 and into a new year where I hope to be able to do something I think we all need to do every now and then.

That is to re-invent myself once again.

And I hope to do that in all aspects of my life including my art.

Here's to a brand new year.

I hope this one brings you real hope, endless magic and boundles bliss!

life, love and all that stuff

Being back here suddenly feels so unfamiliar to me. I have been away from my little blog and I apologize to all of you my dear friends for being gone. I hope your Halloween was wonderful and magical and I owe so many of you a big thank you for creating such amazing Witches Tea Parties. Thank you so very much.

Thank you also for all your concern and well wishes. Your emails meant so much to me and it warmed my heart to know that I was missed. It seems my personal life needed much of my attention and that is what I have been doing.

My husband and I have had our ups and downs, more down than up perhaps the last few years and it was time for us take a long hard look at what we wanted. And what we both wanted was to be better friends and partners to each other. So we committed to working much harder, starting with spending more time together.

The hard work is paying off but unfortunately my muse also decided to take a holiday. My creative juices just went out the window, maybe because I've been on this emotional roller coaster the past few months.

When I can't find inspiration to create with paint and paper I go back to digital doodling. I'm hoping it will jump start my brain so I can get back to creating again. I've had such amazing support from friends that keep encouraging me to start making things...anything! Thank you for being there for me.

I have also taken this opportunity to work on getting healthier. I had problems with my shoulder and arm all year and it took a while for it to start feeling close to okay. Stress has a funny way of putting you on an involuntary diet and when I realized I was dropping a few pounds I thought I might as well keep going, so I started walking and doing workouts again. I feel better and my shoulder and other joints seem to be doing better too.

So that is what's been going on here in my little world. Changes, hopefully for the better. Challenges waiting to be met. And if all goes well maybe I'll find my muse waiting just around the corner.

I hope you're having a beautiful season.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.