My Colourful Valentine

I must admit, I was pretty spoiled yesterday for Valentine's Day! First, Beth took me out to dinner with our little tater tot Valentine. He is just too precious. Three weeks shy of his second birthday, he is one smart cookie. As we sat waiting for our food, he points to a decoration of Cupid holding a heart. "What's that?" he asks. "That's a Valentine" we reply. Well that was his new word for the rest of the day. For such a little man, I was blown away at him saying such a big word! He continued to entertain us singing his ABC's, his 'Elmo and Ernie song' and "C is for Cookie". What a little gem he is!

We return to the homestead with just enough time to make a spot of tea and heat up the cave the little. Last night, for the first time ever I had a very special guest alongside me in the Spidey Cave. She also happened to be the BEST Valentine's date ever!! This young, talented and incredibly sweet artist spent a few hours in the cave with me, exploring the world of acrylics. I had so much fun!! First we explored the tonal scale, and then applied it to a painting of a ball to show shadows and highlights. Then we created our very own colour wheel by mixing our primary colours (that's red, yellow and blue), to create secondary and tertiary colours!  With our new colour wheel handy we explored the idea of complimentary colours and referenced Andy Warhol's famous pop art as examples. For the first time ever, this young artist experienced the wonderful feeling of painting on canvas. She created her very own pop art painting, and the itch to keep going only grew stronger. The old saying is true, 'Time flies by when you're having fun'. Before we knew it it, it was way past her bedtime, and it was a school night! How lucky were we to stay up late on a school night to make art?! Another date has been set, we both are looking forward to it! 

Here's a couple of pictures from last night:

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! 

Thoughtful Tuesdays : Not By Bread Alone

Happy Valentine's Day!! Once again, I am amused at the timing of  'Thoughtful Tuesdays' and where I am in my life journey. Today is a holiday, where like many others, the materialistic and commercialized pressures can take away from the purity and sincerity of the actual day. It can be challenging to step away from social pressures and place your wallet in safe keeping, but it sure does feel good! I kept my debit card hidden for this 'Hallmark' occasion and busted out some construction paper, glue sticks, and creativity instead. It doesn't matter if you are in a relationship or single, love makes the worlds go around.  As a very dear friend  of mine posted on her Facebook today, "Hippie Valentine's Day. Be kind to one another!"


The following is an exact excerpt from the book Listening To Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch. I in no way possess any ownership of the following. I am simply sharing the thoughts, expressions and words of an author who has inspired me.

Not By Bread Alone

The other day I was feeling off center, and so I took a walk around the block to lift my spirits. As I passed one of my neighbor's homes, I spotted a luxury car and began to imagine my pleasure at owning and driving such a vehicle. Suddenly, a still small voice whispered from within, "You can't fill a spiritual void with a physical object. Because you are a spiritual being living in a material world, your deeper needs for love and connectedness can never be satisfied in purely material terms."

And yet we climb the ladder of material success only to discover that it is leaning against the wrong wall. It is clear that human beings need a certain amount of food, clothing, shelter, and comfort to meet their physical needs. But anything beyond that is not truly essential for inner contentment. As the philosopher Marcus Aurelius said, "Very little is needed to make a happy life."

In Scripture we read "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of  the mouth of God." Ask yourself, "What are my spiritual and emotional needs, and what steps am I taking to address them?" As you begin to feed and nourish yourself with spiritual food, your soul's hunger will be filled. There is no deeper satisfaction than this.  

Affirmations

1. I nourish my soul with what it needs.

2. I know what is truly important in my life. 

          3. The love of my friends and family defines my true richness.


          4. My physical needs are more than met, and I give thanks for this. 

          5. I am peaceful and content at the deep level of my being. 


          6. Your Own ________________________.

And I'll send all my lovin' to YOU!

 

    

Thoughtful Tuesdays : Finding Your Purpose

So yesterday I became lost in my paints down in the Spidey Cave. I was so focused on getting these paintings done for the upcoming art show Feb 18th, to fundraiser money for the Autumn House (a local transition house), that I completely forgot it was Thoughtful Tuesday! 


Yesterday/today's excerpt from the book, "Listening To Your Inner Voice" speaks volumes to me. I hope it will resonate with you as well.

The following is an exact excerpt from the book Listening To Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch. I in no way possess any ownership of the following. I am simply sharing the thoughts, expressions and words of an author who has inspired me.

Finding Your Purpose

Everyone has a dream. Everyone has a purpose or mission, something specific he is called to do. You are on this earth for a reason. Although you can temporarily hide from yourself, you can never lose your connection to your purpose. It is always with you, beckoning to be uncovered. You just need to listen and let it speak to you. 

When you do decide to follow your dream, be prepared for resistance. The old beliefs and messages from the past that say it cannot be done will come rushing to the surface. How will you respond to these voices of fear and doubt? Will you allow them to immobilize you? Or will you tell them who is in charge and move forward in spite of your fears?

Despite the objections if everyone around her, Augusta pursued her dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. At first her series of disappointing performances seemed to confirm the predictions of her family and friends. But then she won a race. The improvement continued until a number of first-place finishes gave her a spot on the Olympic team. 

          No matter what the obstacles,  choose to be true to your purpose
          and let it guide and direct your way. Your destiny is beckoning you.
          It is time to heed the call. (page 38)

Affirmations

         1. I am aligned with my higher purpose.

         2. I am in touch with my destiny. 

         3. I hear my inner voice and heed the call.

         4. I am living a life of purpose and passion. 

         5. I follow my dreams and make them a reality. 

         6. Your Own _________________. 

NEDA Month

February is filled with love. Not just because Valentine's happens to fall on the 14th. It is a month filled with awareness for a particular cause that I hold close to my heart. In fact, this cause is so important to me, that I am willing to face a new challenge in an attempt to raise more awareness. I'm aware of how broad my audience here can be. I am already blown away by the number of viewers. With this knowledge I can feel a new sense of fear being created, in turn creating my new challenge. I am about to disclose a very personal story with you, my unknown readers. I have chosen to share this story with you in hopes that it may help you, someone in your life, or just help spread a message to you and those around you. My inner advocate needs to be heard. 

I was in college and I thought I had found my niche. I was volunteering, organizing events, and studying one of my passions in hopes to create a career. Then I stumbled. I lost friends, I lost my education, I lost relationships with people I cared for. I lost weight, a lot of weight, I lost control of my thoughts. I lost everything. I had been battling an illness for over 10 years and finally was diagnosed after I hit my rock bottom. I have Anorexia Nervosa. It is an eating disorder. But I didn't quite fit into just that category according to DSM-IV. I was given a second 'label'. Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, also referred to as EDNOS. As I sank further and further into my eating disorders, I could not see what others were so worried about. I could not see how sick I truly was. What I saw was an incredibly distorted image. 


Finally there came a point where I had nothing left to lose but life itself. I admitted myself to an out of province treatment facility in hopes to recover from this. This would be my second attempt at this program. The first time, I was not ready to get better. I somehow believed I 'needed' my eating disorders. It gave me a sense of identity, control. It gave me things I felt I could not give myself. Upon my second admission into the program, I gave it my all. I was ready to leave this nightmare behind and start living. I soaked up every singly ounce of recovery information, tool and skills I could. I challenged my distorted thinking with facts. I gave myself permission to ask for help when I need it. I left everything I knew behind and for four months I focused on healing. 


It has now been almost two years since I graduated from the Eating Disorders Recovery program. Though I have had a few slips along the way, I am doing well. I still struggle with negative and distorted thoughts and feelings, but I make sure my voice is stronger than "Ed's" (this is a name we place on our eating disorders to separate us from the disorder, it's a very effective method). When I first began my recovery journey, it was just myself. Along the way I have made incredible friends, and my support team has grown and become very strong. Their continual belief in me helps me through the harder days, and makes the great days so much more enjoyable. 


For those of you who are reading this who are suffering, or know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder, please hear me...Recovery IS Possible!! I never in a million years believed that when I heard it from others. I thought they were lying, or never had it as bad as me. But that was the eating disorder talking! It wanted me to believe I needed it. Thankfully I found a way a to be stronger than ED and you can too! You have to work very hard to not only recover from an eating disorder, but to maintain it as well. There were times when I felt all that hard work wasn't paying off, or worth the pain I felt inside, I had never been so wrong. I stuck to my recovery and now, I feel free. The energy I spent fueling my eating disorder is now focused on making more positives. Instead of leaning on the eating disorders for a sense of identity, control and false love, I am now learning how to offer these things to myself.

February is National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. Certain weeks may focus on specific themes, but they all bring light to this life threatening disorder.You can visit the following sites to learn more information on eating disorders, how to bring awareness to our family, loved ones, friends, or your community. We do not have to suffer along. We do not have to be ashamed. Most importantly, hold on to hope, and know that you are stronger than ED may try to make you think you are.

NEDA

NEDIC

Proud 2 B Me

The Valentine's Day Survival Guide

Sadie Jane Collection

presents

The Valentine's Day Survival Guide

I have had more than my share of solo Valentine's Days. I've also been in relationships where Valentine's Day was somehow forgotten, or experienced the 'Oh $#!% it's Valentine's Day'...boyfriend runs out and returns a few hours later with a plastic bag of random holiday related purchases, pickings from the bottom of the love day inventory. Nothing makes you feel more loved than that! haha. So if you are holding your own this holiday , I have some ideas that might help fill your heart with warm goodness and leave the disappointment on the doorstep!

With no silly date to impress, you can decide if you want to be thrifty this Valentine's or go all out! Prepare your absolute favorite meal at home, or be thrifty and raid your cupboards for existing ingredients you won't have to buy. Recipe Key will help you create a meal based on the food you already have on hand! Better yet, order in! Let some one else do the cooking for you! Just don't forget to add dessert to that order!

While you wait for your food to cook, bake, or arrive, crank up your favorite feel good music playlist and dance! Seriously, like no one is watching. You have no idea how much fun you are missing out on until you hold a hairbrush in one hand and just give 'er! (For some this might be a good time to close the blinds or curtains hehe)

So your food is ready, light some candles and have a romantic dinner with your number 1! (pst...That's YOU in case you were wondering). Not so much a fan of sitting at the table in silence while you eat? Then pop in your favorite comedy movie (unless you're in the mood to watch a tear jerker...or you likes them scary movies! ) and chow down.

With no one else to spend money on, why not buy yourself a little present? Have it wrapped at the store, so after dinner you have a little something to open. Not into spending money on yourself, at all? That's ok, why not check out a local organization you support that is in need of some love. Play cupid and instead of love arrows, send a love donation to them instead. 

Not feeling the being alone on Valentine's Day? That's cool too. Why not ring up your single ladies (or single men) and invite them over for a little singles party? Just make sure your musical selection is filled with upbeat tunes, and no mushy crap! haha. 

Want to go out? Why not warm the hearts of others and volunteer? I'm sure there are a few community organizations that could use your loving! Think retirement homes, hospitals, animal shelters, etc. You could bring board games, bring a tray of snacks, or special treats for our furry or feathered amigos. 

These are just a few ideas I thought of to help you survive Feb. 14. For more great ideas, check out 20 Valentine's Day Ideas for Fabulous Singles! 

(Etsy : JulieAnnArt)

Love is in the Air

14 days until Valentine's folks! Now I could very easily get on a rant about how Valentine's Day is a highly commercialized holiday with extreme pressure and marketing aimed at spending money to prove our love, and how the socioeconomic status of a couple tends to be compromised for the sake of unnecessary materialistic purchases. I could also rant about the importance of self love and independence and how this holiday that displays unrealistic standards for expressing love for others and the need to be paired up is ridiculous.

But I won't.

Instead, I'm going to embrace this holiday filled with love. I am going to love and be loved. I am also going to share some pretty awesome Valentine themed DIY projects with you to help spread the love this February 14th. For those of you playing the solo role, no worries, I have some ideas for you too!

Start your Valentine's with a 'heart-y' breakfast. hehe. Learn how to make heart shaped hard boiled eggs over on annathered. It looks super easy to do, and very thrifty. You could even make heart shaped toast with strawberry jam, or heart shaped pancakes!

Love is in the air with these colourful decorative hearts. Kids can help out to, as long as they have adult supervision with the iron, or have a grown up do the ironing for them, depending on their age. Over at skiptomylou  you can find out how to make these crayon shaving hearts. 

Ok so this is where you can make sure a certain card company or two won't pocket your money this Valentine's Day. Learn how to make your own pop up card at RobertSabuda , just scroll down towards the bottom for this pattern.

How precious is this Valentine's Day tree? You could create hearts out of construction paper, or any paper around the house really, with little love notes on the back. Take a stroll through the park to find a tree branch, you could paint it, or just leave it natural. I really love this idea from skiptomylou .

Get ready to set the atmosphere at the dinner table tonight. This pretty and easy to make. Find some scrap lace (check out local thrift stores) or paper doilies and using a mixture of 1/3 water 2/3 white school glue, 'paint' the lace/doily onto the glass votive. Allow enough time for this to dry and set (perhaps you could do this the night before).

When the moon hits your eye like a heart shaped pizza pie...that's amore! Personally when it comes to cooking, I don't think there is any other meal more fun to make than a pizza! And one 'decorated' with hearts is even better. If you are a vegetarian, or you are like me and just don't like meat on your pizza, you could make heart shaped tomatoes to replace the pepperoni. (Of course you can use your imagination and turn any topping into a heart, or form heart shapes with peppers, mushrooms etc)

Who doesn't love ice cream sandwiches? These heart shaped, chocolate and strawberry treats are too tempting to resist! Mint Design Blog  has the 'scoop' on how to make this cute love dessert (A heart shaped pizza followed by this love filled dessert? Sounds like a great feast for Valentine's Day!)

Create your own love fortunes by making homemade fortune cookies! Alphamom has a recipe if you want to use your baking skills! All of the ingredients may be in your cupboards already which is very wallet friendly. If you don't have access to a printer, cut up some paper and write your own fortunes!

Not so keen on baking? Why not get crafty and make a toy fortune cookie?

Martha Stewart has a step by step tutorial on how to create felt fortune cookies. I like how she fills them with chocolate kisses so you can still indulge your sweet tooth!

I'm a HUGE fan of making tents so when I saw this, I knew I had to make it. Even when Valentine's is long gone, I may have to keep this little nest idea for rainy days and a good book. I found this love tent over at Design Sponge.

Head on down to the beach and find some small, flat rocks. (If you don't live near a beach, just try to find some small rocks, or pebbles). You only need a handful. Then pop over to Craftbits and learn how to make wish stones. You could bring these into your love tent and make wishes with your significant other. Or you could make a love nest for yourself and make some wishes just for you!


Ok, so you don't have kids, or a significant other to share this with.  Maybe you're pretty upset because of this and now you don't even want to do these things for you. Well..fret not my loved ones! Tomorrow, I'll be posting a Valentine's Survival Guide, and trust me, it's going to be fun!

Bella's Art Show

Good Morning!
This post will be super short, I have to dart out the door, but I did promise photos! Here it is,

My first art show of 2012, at Bella's Cafe and Bistro. The show is intended to raise awareness towards mental health. This is a collection of my first paintings of 2012 with a special guest appearance from my last painting of 2011.

*Note: colours and textures in these paintings may vary from actual painting. My camera isn't living up to it's fullest potential these days, makes me sad.

These Strings Bring Wisdom

2012

Acrylic on Canvas

6x6

$70

Optimistic Puppet

2012
Acrylic on Canvas
8x8
$90

New Growth

2012
Acrylic on Canvas
10x10
$120

Kintala
2012
Acrylic on Canvas
11x14
$170

(picture on the left is a close up of the texture in the flower)

Beautiful Spirit
2012
Acrylic on Canvas
20x20
$400

I have to run, busy busy morning! Create yourself a great day folks!