January Dare

On the off chance that anyone is still reading here, I mean there hasn't been much to read in the last year but I am still here.  I've written posts in my mind but that does little good for the rest of you.  Here I am though.  And it feels good to be here, like I do in fact have something compelling me to write.
My lovely Heidi Joy bought me Nikki McClure's 2015 calendar.  Each month has a key word that works along with the image.  For January it is: Dare.  And so I'm daring myself to come back to this space and sit awhile.  To find where it fits into my world as it is now.

Our fall was very busy, and we traveled to my hometown for the holidays which was lovely.  Turning 37 this year has sent me for a bit of a tumble.  Oddly for one who has never really balked at the actual number of my age, 37 made me nervous and testy.  I've been working on why and it has something to do with melding two parts of myself.  My 20-something dreamer and my 30-something doer.  And if that is reminding you of a long ago post this is the one I talked about that comparison in. 

So here we are at the start of a new calendar year.  There is lots to talk about, think on and do.  I plan to share those things more regularly here because as it turns out I need this outlet now more than I have the past two sparser (in blog terms) years. I'll dust things off a bit in the next while and we'll go from there.

Eat more salad, Drink more water...

Happy New Year.

There are changes happening in everyone's lives... the change of the calendar always inspires new actions, resolutions, goals.  It's an arbitrary new beginning, but it never ceases to inspire many of us onward towards something different.  In past years I've listed goals in this space and I always create a small list to help my scattered dreamer mind focus as life rushes around me.
On Winter Solstice I sat for an hour by my altar and focused on goals, wrote down my dreams, meditated on what I could realistically expect from myself at this season of my life.

In truth the new year began for me sometime after Autumn Equinox of 2012.  I felt a new daring, energy that I may have never felt as concisely before in my life.  It was telling me to take chances, to step outside my comfort zones, to believe that I could make my life happen.

I've been a bit surprised with some of the realities of this new energy.  Balancing art making with homemaking is not easy.  Keeping it all in hand has brought countless opportunities to learn.  I've learned more about myself and my limits, learned about how much I can expect from others, gosh more lessons than I've even completely absorbed at this point.  

Over the years this blog has been a repository for whatever my mind and soul felt compelled to share.  That is changing as I endeavor towards new territory in my career and eventually with my spiritual work and home life.  For now things will look much the same but when my website launches sometime this year (not putting too much pressure on myself in terms of dates) I will be moving my creative and art musings to a new blog connected to the site.  This blog will remain my personal journey with my family and for more directly pagan writings, although my artwork and spirituality are very closely tied so we'll have to see how that develops.  This new direction is exciting and feels very right for this moment.

And speaking of this moment or tonight to be exact I'm thrilled to announce that I'm in an art show.  It is a group juried show with the theme of Earth.  I worked away during October to produce a quilted piece and was just beside myself when I was accepted.  Details for the show can be found here.

So this is a new year, and a new world for me filled new horizons to explore.  I feel along way from art school and a bit out of my element but that is what challenges are all about.  So to tie my title into this post I have many aspirations for this year, two are as simple as eat more salad and drink more water, others are as complicated as find concrete time for creating and forging new working relationships in the art world.   But they are all open and fresh and offer many adventures down the road.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

a quick mention

Just wanted to let you all know that one of my photos is featured at the Rhythm of the Home blog this week under the theme of warmth.  Have a look and join the Flickr pool if you want to contribute a new theme is chosen each week.

a little note to say....

My photo was featured on habit yesterday.  Take a look...

News of note

I just wanted to share that I've been asked to contribute to the Pagan Parenting Resource Blog.  I was honoured to be asked and in order to keep things clear in my mind I've developed three areas that I will write about for each of my three endeavors.  Here I of course pour out the jumble of my mind in everything from mothering to politics to my personal pagan path.  At PaganPages Ezine I write about day-to-day pagan parenting covering topics like Blessingways, family values, and general parenting issues from a pagan perspective.  At the Pagan Parenting Resource Blog I've decided to share a monthly crafting/art project celebrating nature, the festivals or the seasons.  There may be overlap in places but for the most part that is my plan for keeping the content in each place unique and fresh.  I have just posted my first post to Pagan Parenting and have shared a tutorial for making a Tree Advent Calender with your kids.  Please check out the site as it has some great contributors and content.

What's really been happening...

August was very quiet around here, wasn't it?  I am going to share the main reason for this now.....
I am pregnant.  Our family is very excited to be adding our fourth member.  He or she will arrive sometime in March 2011.  The first trimester is nearing it's end now as I am in the 12th week.  With Kyan's pregnancy I was rather depressed and nauseous and oh, so tired.  The same has been the case this time.   Each day was different,  some more challenging than others but overall I think this time the yucky feelings have been a bit quicker to go away.
I am so glad to have this blog as a record of this time.  I did not blog when I was pregnant with Kyan.   This child will have a record of its growth from an earlier stage than Ky does.
So I hope this explains my lack of posts and it also is the main reason for my slow progress in getting our new home organized.  The long weekend helped us get some things in place but the process of settling in will take many months as we plan on purchasing new furniture and making this place look like us.  As I may have mentioned before our style is still a work in progress.
As more energy starts to creep in I have more posts formulating in my head and I hope to return to a normal posting schedule this month.  I won't go baby crazy here but I'll definitely keep everyone updated and relate baby news that I think is pertinent or that inspires my writing desires.
Thanks for sticking with me.  I hope you'll enjoy the new adventure our family  is undertaking in the months to come.  As a fun little comparison I took a photo now and contrasted it with one from Kyan's pregnancy.  My belly is close to the size it was at 5 months now at only 3.  But they say that you pop out much faster in subsequent pregnancies.

12 Weeks, September 2010

Around 5 months, August 2007

I'm still here

I really am. I'm just waist deep in life at the moment.  My plan is to get several posts done after some other looming deadlines and then be able to relax a bit for the long weekend.

Right now I am to tired to look at a screen though.  I'll be back soon. (ish)

Blog and Internet Housekeeping

I've been meaning to mention a few things lately which are blog/internet related so I guess I'll clump them into this post and get some housekeeping done.

I want to thank Angela at The Pagan Mom Blog for gracing me with this award.  I'm bad at keeping up with all the rules and such that follow along with them but I am always so grateful for being thought of.  Thanks again!

In other news I wanted to share Fire Lyte's wonderful Project Pagan Enough which you may have noticed as a button on my sidebar.  Fire Lyte has initiated a movement towards a less judgmental culture within Paganism.

"Project Pagan Enough seeks to say that - no matter your beliefs, practices, looks, or loves - you are pagan enough. We can argue theology back and forth all day long and disagree with one another's fluff-factor until the cows come home, but it is high time that we stop denigrating one another's level of being pagan. Paganism does not have a set definition, and there is definitely not a dress code or music-loving requirement."

Here, Here!

And finally I wanted to share a decision I've made recently to cull my internet social sites and really only participate in things that are creative and positive for me and that can be visited in short intervals.  I was a member of PaganSpace and Mom Blogger's Club for a while but what I found was that I didn't have the time or correction did not want to make the time to participate in the forums and comment etc.  The blogs I read and the few sites that I have remained a member of are so important to me and have become a relaxing and creative part of my day...or week.  So if you are also hanging out in some of these areas and you want to connect please do but I'll understand if you are doing something better. Really I will.  Life moves fast and when you have a little one and a life to live time should be precious.  So while I have no bones about anyone else being on Twitter I will not be there.  I don't own a smart phone and I like it that way.  Laptops are enough for me (although that ipad does look mighty cool)  Also I want to clarify that I am on facebook but I do not have a public profile there.  My friends on facebook are all people that I have known or know with the exception of a few that I friended before I made the decision to keep that profile more limited.  I've done that mostly to protect the privacy of Dave and Ky and the rest of my family.  Here I can chose to share our lives and keep details out of it and that is really a matter of security for us. 

So now that I've gotten through the drudgery of it all here is where you can find me "out there."

Polyvore pure fun and fantasy this is a site for those of us who like to play with collage and cut and paste with fashion, art and interior design.  So much fun I tell you.  I've given myself a limit of only making one set a week.  Check it out and you'll see what I mean.  You can find me there as chasingdomesticbliss.

flikr I know I'm slow on that one.  But being creative and making stuff I find this is a great place to connect with groups around books I'm getting sewing ideas from and just to get inspired.  Again, Chasing Domestic Bliss is my profile name there.

I'm on The Witch's Voice as Jen as well which is my oldest "membership" I'm sure that is the case for many of you as well. 

So those are the main ones and I don't see much chance in adding any more any time soon.  I'm lucky to fit the time in to get on here as much as I'd like so no more I say!  Wow that feels nice.  But really this ability to connect and share with people from all over the world is so amazing and I'm grateful for it and you all too.