Category: Achieve

New Year, New Hopes, New Joy.

1/13/2013

"My task for this year, a resolution of sorts, is to grow the joy in myself by doing more of whatever brings that simple three letter word into my life. By doing this, I will see if it has made any changes in my life or the people around me. Here's to an AMAZING,JOYFUL year!"

The above quote was taken from my last year's resolution,and I promised to check back in to see if it has made a difference in my life or those around me. Well, I wasn't always successful, but I do think that I have been able to find the joy more often in life's everyday moments simply by paying closer attention.
JOY EXPERIMENT RESULTS:
Contentment has increased. (Yay!)
Stress has decreased. (Could still use some work)
We bought a house (first ever)
Started a blog (starting to get the hang of it)
Hubby happier (Yay!)
Confidence is up! (and rising)
Nothing Earth shattering, but a good start I think. Joy is everywhere for the taking, sometimes you have to stop and look for it, it is all around, the more you notice the more you are able to see. All in all, I think this was a goal that brought new fresh things into my life, and I am re-committing to it for 2013!

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Summertime in America

6/26/2012

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Photo by Danielle Keaton

It's summertime in America, and that means:
School's out;
Kids are home;
Backyard BBQ's;
4th of July;
Corn on the cob;
Watermelon;
Reading;
And time to polish the toes!

All good reminders that it's good to be alive (I apparently need to be reminded of this occasionally.) The scarier side of summer is that my day job is on shaky ground, and I am making less money than is required to keep up with the bills. I have decided to TRY to stress less about that minor detail and instead take advantage of having more time to be creative.

I have been thinking that it might be time to self publish, as traditional publishing is facing many of it's own challenges these days, and I really like the sound of "Indie Author." I am publicly announcing that goal to the universe and starting today I'm on my way...stay tuned for status updates.

I hope everyone has some fun creative projects lined up for this summer, even if its just painting your toenails! Cheers!

Yoshi the Wonder Dog takes a beach break

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
I want to take a moment to say a sad farewell to our small town independent book store, Cheshire Books. It has been a fixture in our town for generations. It will be sorely missed.

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JOY

1/21/2012

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The main thing that I have learned while living on this planet for as long as I have (which is kind of long) is that
LIFE IS AMAZING!
Yes, it can take side trips to;
FRUSTRATING,
DEPRESSING,
DARK,
and OVERWHELMING, but it always comes back to AMAZING. Little things like:
A BIRD SINGING,
A SPIDER SPINNING A WEB,
AN UNEXPECTED SMILE,
JOY.
Joy is a simple three letter word that packs a punch. Joy can come from anywhere and out of nowhere. It can sideswipe you when you least expect it. Watch someone do something that they love to do---the look on their face when they accomplish their task is joy. it doesn't matter how much money they have or don't have in that one moment joy is all there is.
My task for this year, a resolution of sorts, is to grow the joy in myself by doing more of whatever brings that simple three letter word into my life. By doing this, I will see if it has made any changes in my life or the people around me. Here's to an AMAZING,JOYFUL year!

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Author & Illustrator

I was born in Southern California, so grew up believing in dreams and magic (thanks to Hollywood and Disneyland.) While I occasionally feel duped, I still have a core fascination with all things fairy land-ish that will never leave me! I have a degree in Graphic Design from Chico State University. My art career has gone on tangents here and there, but always returns when called. I am a published author/illustrator in the field of children's books.

New Year, New Hopes, New Joy.

Summertime in America

JOY

Author & Illustrator

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