summer clothes

I just changed the background and photo to reflect the colours of the juicy florals of summer.
The photo is from my backyard by the pool.
Hope you like it!

Fulfillment and Felicity !

So...

How do we reach fulfillment?

you can read Buddha,

Ekhart Tolle, the Bible,

and they all say fulfillment is reached

through prayer or meditation,

giving of yourself, and controlling your ego. But you also have to look after yourself very well!

In my case, fulfillment is through family, love, work and art.

Not that I consider myself a VanGogh by any means. But I get to revel in the richness of colour, the interplay of textures, and the visual delights of design through my hobby.

Do you know people who have no hobbies? And they dont look forward to retiring? I do. I cant even imagine a life of no interests... just work , eating, and watching television.

I have so many hobbies and things I still want to learn, I will probably be even busier when I do retire.

Today, I read on the CTMH Felicity blog for January:

Psychology Today offers this advice: get a hobby. “Hobbyists are amateurs - that is to say, the most intrinsically motivated of lovers. They court their pastime, not for conquest or for gain, but for pure pleasure. Hobbies are, quintessentially, forms of play.” In other words, passing time with your hobby is the same as doing what you love, and doing what you love is what makes for happiness.

That sounds like making love to paper to me!!

I do know one thing... fulfillment is reached by not taking but by giving of ourselves, and in my case this works in all the areas I mentioned : family, love, and work.

The older I get the more this is true!

The trick is to find a balance where you are not overworking yourself, yet feel satisfaction in what you have done. I prioritize my family over my work... (sorry Ms. Mann) My boss already knows that !

smiles to you all!

New Muzik

i have arranged my playlist to include new muzik for your ears...
its Christmassy . enjoy!

new Tunez

I changed the playlist up a bit and tried to keep the music mellow and gentle.
I added a very quiet tender ballad by the late great John Lennon.

Oh my love
for the first time in my life
my eyes are wide open
Oh my love for the first time in my life
my eyes can see

i see the wind
i see the tree
eveything is clear in my heart
I see the cloud
oh I see the sky
everything is clear in our world

Hope you like it!

omg ! I am excited about teaching 3 classes in July!

I am teaching 3 classes in July!
Its been a while since I made a waterfall card. And I probably have my instructions on file somewhere but it is easier to google . I found this really extensive website in the process:
http://www.paperscrapz.screentastic.ca/templates.html

I added it to my list of templates for future reference , and it has links to more good sites.

Facelift

The blog has received a fresh summer look. The facelift includes a new green background and a photo showing my daughter and I outside our home at her pre-prom party.
If I could afford an actual facelift, I would probably get my eyes done and also my jawline/cheek area. I would love to be able to afford Botox treatments . Maybe one day.

Music and Shtuff

Just a few thoughts....
I joined Mojo Monday. It's all about cards/stamping.
Maybe I will try a challenge. Maybe not. I just wanted to look at it.
It's a huge success .
However, note: the words Clean and Simple do not come into play.

Most of the time I design out of my head for layouts.
I am always working around my pictures primarily
so it doesnt matter how cute a layout design is if it
wont take 7 or 8 pictures!! lol

Also, I added a playlist recently to this blog.
Most of it is soft and supposed to be inspirational.
I realise it might not be to everybody's taste so if you find it annoying,
you can hit the pause button on the top of the black playlist box .
If you like, enjoy!

If it rains today I will get downstairs to the Studio and
crank out some cards or a layout or both.

also... Thank you to those who have recently joined my blog to Follow Me.
I consider it a compliment!
... ciao...