West of Whimsy

Hello Siri? . . .

Look what arrived on my doorstep this morning from work.

I got me an iPhone - Yipppeeeeee!!

More Spring Cleaning . . .

Just a quick post to say that my Spring cleaning project is still going!  Seriously, this is the biggest purge of stuff that I've ever done - Woo Hoooo!  Went to Goodwill twice this weekend, and I can tell you that I've gotten rid of seven pairs of shoes.  In addition, these (plus some others not pictured) are all on the chopping block.  Yeah Baby!

Getting rid of cute shoes? This is a big deal for me people, a really big deal!

A Visit + Some Weeding + Some Rain . . .

My Mom came to visit last weekend, and spent a good portion of her time weeding my patio!  Here are some before & after photos:

And this is what it looked like when she got done working her magic!

I realize I just made that sound like she waved her wand & all the weeds went away . . . when in fact it was hours of work.  Work that I don't have time to do, and that I don't like to do - all of which is to say I am extremely grateful!

On Monday we had torrential rain that set off car alarms - here's a video:

In adition to the weeding, Mom also supported me as I went through a ton of boxes and bags full of stuff that I didn't need (or want actually) and we ended up making two trips to Goodwill, and countless trips to the garbage & recyling bins.  I have an appointment on Friday to take a bunch of clothes and shoes to Gather in Columbia City (super cute consignment shop) and have kept up the purging mojo for the last couple of days.
It is exhausting & liberating all at the same time.  And . . . being a big believer in getting rid of what I don't want to create room for what I do?  I have a feeling that something really good will be heading my way soon!

Here's my Mom . . . isn't she cute?

Looking forward to the long holiday weekend - hooray!

xo

Poetry & Prayer . . .

Thought I'd share a little poetry with you today, written by my younger son when he was in 2nd grade:

Trader Joe's

Oh Trader Joe's
the store I like
With Pizza and gum
Feta cheess and Cheta cheess
and the choclet cereal
I've always loved
it's just that store
that has everything.

(From a book of poems entitled "Piece of Chickin", Mother's Day 2009.)

On a not so funny note, my friend Jessica found out today that her lung cancer has spread to her brain.  She starts treatment tomorrow, and can use all the good juju, healing energy & prayer she can get - if you could keep her in your thoughts?  Thank you!!

xo

Sunday Treasury . . .

In love with this Farmer's Market treasury today . . . Happy Weekend!  xo

Teenager Highs & Lows . . .

On Tuesday I was in Bellingham, had dinner with my co-worker and at around 6:45 got in the car to head home.  Before I started the car I decided to check my Instagram feed, and noticed this photo posted by my 13 year old son:

Space Needle from Kerry Park, time stamped 1:00 p.m.-ish, entitled "#suspensionpics"

This is the thought process that followed: 

Cool photo!  What was he doing out of school at 1:00?  Hmmm.

Come to find out he got suspended.  Yah - #suspensionpics had nothing to do with hanging the camera at some creative angle to get the shot . . . he was indeed suspended for the day.  Fantastic!

We had a long talk about how it all went down, the teacher involved, and consequences for any further behaviour issues at school for the rest of the year.  And I decided to leave it at that.  Blah.

(That would be the LOW teenager moment.)

Here's the HIGH:  8th grade science project - build a Rube Goldberg contraption that has these key elements:  and axel, wedge, tilted plain, screw, pulley, lever & a final result - which is this case was all to pop a balloon.  After about 50 tries, he and his friend got it to work.

I watched them fail over and over, and am so proud of their perseverence to make it work!  Way to get creative in using a toy car, eraser, marble, Wii Fit board, old childhood toy (the marble run), cap from a gluestick, shoelaces, dowels & toilet paper.  And a fish hook - but that's a story for another day.

Proud Mama over here!!

Blogging Your Way 2.0 . . .

I vaguely recall having read somewhere that it takes three weeks of doing something to make it a habit.  Clearly, I've been "not blogging regularly" for more than three weeks - so my habit now is not to make time for it.  Lame.

Luckily, I came across the perfect cure for my current ailment - and signed up for Holly Becker's new class "Blogging Your Way 2.0" - which starts June 1st!  (Happy Birthday to ME!).

While I haven't been blogging, I have been doing a lot of Instagram-ing, now that it is available for Droid phones.  Super fun social networking + micro-blogging with photos.  Gotta love that.

Also thinking I need to buy this book with my Amazon.com credit.

Happy Wednesday . . . be back sooooon!

xo

A Year Ago :: (Reflections On Being 40) . . .

(May 8th, 2011 - 30,000+ feet above somewhere in Canada . . .)

Last year on May 8th I celebrated my 40th birthday (& Mother's Day!) by getting on a plane bound for London, and the Do What You Love creative enterprise retreat in the English countryside.

It was a whirlwind 10 day adventure - where I reconnected with my high-school friend, ate in a teepee, made a book, met many creative kindred spirits and learned a lot about listening to my intuition. (Nothing like having someone put a roofy in my drink to work on that last one!)

In the last 12 months I have accomplished some amazing goals - the biggest of which was creating and teaching my very first online photography class, followed closely by losing almost 20 pounds & keeping it off. Add to those a slew of other fun smaller projects like painting owls, jumping into a freezing cold lake in New Hampshire, and working with a creative life coach? I'd say 40 was a blowout success!

(My 40th birthday dinner . . .)
Looking forward? I see another year filled with learning, creativity, and crazy adventures.

41 . . . Bring it ON!

Coming Back Around . . .

Big Sky Country . . .

What can I say? I feel like I just ran a marathon! Well . . . I imagine this is what it feels like after one runs a marathon. I've never actually accomplished that particular feat, and given that I hate to run? Probably not gonna happen.

I have been traveling extensively for the last two months. Bremerton, Bellingham, Coeur d'Alene, Portland, and a bunch of other local places (i.e. can get home in time for baseball games or dinner). It was fun, and crazy, and I'm happy to be home for the time being. Add to that teaching my very first class? Ummm - there were moments when I thought for sure I had lost my mind!

Happy to report that my class was a success! I've alreaday gotten some valuable feedback from my students which I will apply to the next session in October. Yep - registration is OPEN, and the early bird discount is good through May 31st! Feeling pretty excited that most of my content is done, so apart from making a few adjustments - the Fall class will require far less time in terms of preparation. Love that!

Along the Coeur d'Alene River . . .

So what's next?

I am taking a break for the next couple of weeks.

My birthday is on Tuesday - 41 woot! I'm thinking about having a little party next weekend since I never had one for my 40th - we'll see how that plays out.

I have been asked to do some more photos for Roosevelt Vision Source - which I'm super excited about! Picked up a bunch of swanky frames yesterday, and started on that this morning. (Did I say I was taking a break? Ummm - right.)

Lombardi's Restaurant in Issaquah has also asked me if I'd be interested in showing my work there (yes!), so my photos will be on display there starting in June. I will be sure to share more details on that as I get them.

And I am happy to say that I'll be back to blogging again more regularly - I have missed my little online space!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend,

xo
-e

Art Sale This Weekend . . .

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'll be selling my work this weekend!:

The 7th Annual Flying House Art Sale
270 NE Birch Street
Issaquah, WA
Saturday & Sunday (April 28th & 29th) - 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For more information on the other artists who will be there, go here.

Hope to see you!

(& yes, I'll be back here shortly.  Class ends on Friday after which I'm going to take a little break, and then post a bunch of things that have been composing themselves in my brain over the last three months!)

Happy Friday!