Christmas Goodies

Finally, my Secret Santress can be revealed ~ Jennlui! YAY! I received her package several days before Christmas, but decided to wait until Christmas morning to open it. I've heard comments like "How could you wait?" Let me explain....I wasn't getting many surprise gifts, usually I do all the shopping, even for myself (I make things too easy for Hubby - but that's going to change in the future) SO.....I wanted to have something that was a surprise. That's how I could wait. ;)

Onto the loot:

Jennlui sent me many of her specialties: trinketty treasures like these........CHARMS! (I'll talk more about this later ;)

and these

and THISIt's so succulent, so juicy with sparkle that the pictures just don't do it justice - it's golden sparkly'ness is surely slurp-able!!!!
It's the Mandala of Time and comes with this quote:
"When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So, it is how we use our lives that determine the kind of people we are." Cesar Chavez

What fantastic surprises!!!!! Abundant Appreciation Jennlui!!!!! It's fabulous. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Big squeezles to you!!

I also received another surprise: Sandy sent me this witchy woman by FairyLover17. Check her etsy shop out cause her stuff is super lovely!

Isn't she pure magickal beauty? She reminded me how magickal I am (it's part of the major changes that are coming ;). Great Gratitude Sandy - what a lovely surprise and truly thoughtfull of you. Big squeezles!!

Also, you probably noticed this in the background of the shell picture: Yes, I received SARK's new book. Haven't really gotten into it yet, but I'm sure it's as edible as her others.

Hubby did surprise me with these:


"Down in Fraggle Rock (clap, clap)" Love them! I so remember singing that song on the elementary school playground. I don't know why, he's so grumpy, but Boober was always my favorite. Perhaps cause I was young and his name was BOOBer. haha!

"Down in Fraggle Rock!" Love them! I so remember singing that song on the elementary school playground. As a matter of fact, check this out......


Hubby and I went to an 80's themed Halloween party several years ago. I made the 'hair' and his shirt (it's just a white button-up painted with acrylic). The three of us worked on the tails (which you can't see in the picture, but they're there). I like Hubby's spiked hair.

Here's some gifts I received from my in-laws. Gorgeous calendar: Enchanted Dreams with artwork by Kristina Swarner

Looking forward to February - that one is my favorite
AND more charms! These three are created by Green Girl Studios

This one is by Earthenwood Studio

It's funny cause last month Jennlui sent me a birthday package with three elephant charms. I mentioned then that I've always wanted a charm bracelet. Now, these charms were bought earlier in Oct and my birthday is in November - so, it's not as if they read it on my blog. It just happened. MAGICK! Not only that, but yesterday I cleaned out my studio - I so wanted a really fresh start to the new year cause I have lots of plans and organization really helps ward off being overwhelmed - anyways, I found more and more charms.....see

and even after that I found more charms (not pictured)! This is going to be one kick butt charm bracelet!!!!! Thanks to the "charming" people in my life. ;) Making this bracelet is a goal of mine for 2009.

Last, but certainly not least is this also from my in-laws

Isn't it tea-riffic?? I love, Love, LOVE it!! As a matter of fact, Hubby was kind enough to wash it and I'm already doing this

~Yum, hot chocolate~

Melissa

Some magickal discoveries

Hi! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas. We did! The babies had a blast playing in all that wrapping paper. Santa brought them each a can of 'Fancy Feast.' Even the birds and their competition, the squirrels, had a ~fancy feast~ peanut butter covered with nuts and seeds.


I saw this in-cased in ice on the front patio on Tuesday. Happy Face!


Magick climbed the tree - all the way to the top with the Angel, as matter of fact. Hubby was worried about him falling. I said, "Let him fall, he'll learn his lesson and not climb to the top anymore." Gosh I love being clever. A few moments later, Magick promptly tumbled head over tail out of the tree. Hubby tried to cushion his fall with one hand, as the camera was in the other documenting Magick's Quest to get the Angel. He hasn't climbed to the top since. ;) But now that I've said that, he'll be doing it in a moment I'm sure. :)



Christmas morning: The wormers woke me up early, after I didn't go to sleep until late (gosh my creative juicy'ness has been running all over :). At first, I wasn't very happy. But then I noticed I was been greeted with this. Mmmmmm, sunrise colored yummy'ness.



I've seen this before, but I wanted to share it with ya'll cause coming from where I lived before, I never thought I'd see something like this. Look out the window. (notice the curtains hiding from the kittens haha)




Do you see it?



No? Perhaps I'll zoom in a little. Do you see it now?



It's horses standing in a field that is through our woods, over the neighbors field, across the street, past the other neighbors houses, and up on the hill. That's the place where I first see the sun this time of year.

This moment is my favorite though. I noticed it the other day and mentioned it to Hubby. But the thought of recording it didn't come to me until last night just before I went to sleep at midnight. I knew after today, I wouldn't be hearing it anymore (as least until I figure out how to rig up something cool :).

Instructions for 'viewing.' There is nothing to see, so close your eyes and listen to this. Hear it. Soak up this precious moment I discovered in my life.




~Rain Powered Music~
Melissa

ps: BTW, that sound on the video is rain falling on old cat food cans we've been too lazy to pick up (until today). What an Awesome World, where even 'trash' contains beauty!! YES!!!!

ps again: I think I might be making some major changes (Major Changes - sorry, How I Met Your Mother reference slipped out) around here. But I've got some more work to do and some more thinking....I'll tell you about it later. :)

Happy 2 month Birthday Wormers!

Yesterday, those squirmy wormers turned 2 months old! YAY! They are all doing wonderfully. They play almost non-stop and keep me up half the night. But they are so worth it. And YES, Jennlui, they have taken over the whole house and our lives completely. They make me laugh. I remember when they were just teeny-tiny.

A Pile of Kittens

Cleo and Twix (just born)

Remember this picture of the tiny wormer leg and tail next to Zoe's leg and tail?

Their legs don't look like that anymore. I miss their fold'y ears. Here's some recent photos. Most of them are sleeping - have you ever tried to take a 'not-blurry' picture of a kitten who is awake? Nearly impossible.

Cleo

Twix



Twix and Uncle Pug - who used to be terrified of the babies! He's made progress. YAY Uncle Pug!

Twix with Uncle Dittle - who has also made progress. The 'big' cats are doing so much better with the babies than I imagined. I suppose they have no choice, they're out-numbered. ;)

Magick and Uncle Dittle's butt

Pirate - he's almost always sleeping in a funny position.

Pop-Tart - the scaredy cat of the bunch. We have a laser pointer. Everyone loves it. Poppy? He runs and hides. :)

Sometimes it's like a frat party gone wrong (or right, depending on your view). This was "Saturday morning after their Friday night party".

From the left - Pop~Tart, Cleo, Twix, Magick, Pirate

This was "Sunday morning after their Saturday night party".

And this was "Monday morning."

Happy mini-Birthday Squirmers! Hope there are many, many, many more!

~Kitten Snuggles~

Melissa

PS: I found out who my Secret "Santress" is ~ :) , but just in case, I won't say yet.....don't want to ruin it for anyone else. And I didn't fully open the package yet, I peeked a lil, but I'm waiting until Christmas morning. YAY!!!! Thank you Secret Santress!! xoxo

Music Monday: Peppy'ness and Sunshine!

I'm following in the lovely footsteps of Jennlui - I've got Thank~full Thursday and now....Music Monday.

Music has always been tremendously important to my journey. I'd like to share some of what I dance my way through life to.

The first time I heard my daughter play this song, I LOVED it. Made her play it so many times in a row that she got annoyed with me. :) I hope you enjoy it's happy energy as much as I do. How can anyone not get rocked out by an awesome saxophone solo? It's a fun video too.

So Much Love by The Rocket Summer

And in honor of our returning Sun ~



Have a beautiful fantastic day!

~You've got so much love in you~
Melissa

Sensational Sandy Tagged Me

Sandy, who Shares her Balance, tagged me. The request is to list five things I do to stay mentally healthy.

1) Play - Hubby and I like to play video games together. Usually we choose games where we can be cooperative - not against each other...that usually leads to him getting hit in the arm. ;)

2) I don't allow my mind to think about negative situations - There are situations, mostly from the past, that I have a tendency to go over and over and over in my mind. Truly it's just another way to beat myself up. This past summer, I learned to control my mind better. When I catch myself thinking or reenacting an upsetting situation (you know, the shoulda, coulda, woulda's, defending my actions, beliefs, thoughts), I stop and say to myself, "I've already examined this situation many times. I know why I 'did, said, blah' what I 'did, said, blah'. What I 'did, said, blah' is what is best for me." Sometimes, even only a few minutes later I catch my brain going over it again....I just follow the same pattern. There are times when I do allow myself to get into it a little cause the anger of the situation has opened up again, so time to clean it out and put a band-aid on. ;)

3) I eat chocolate or take a nap when I feel blue for no 'real' reason and can't shake it with anything else (like dancing to a peppy song).

4) I talk to myself - not like crazy 'bag-lady' talk - positive, encouraging, bring me back to balance talk. For example:

The other day, I was looking at our house. The kittens are messy lil buggers....we need to vacuum every day. So, it's out of sorts with litter boxes every where (normally they are in the laundry room, but we're keeping them out of there - too many things for them to get into) and cat food in the living room. Even without them, this isn't the house I dreamed of living in. It's a small gray/green rectangle. Inside, it's much larger than you'd think, but again, not exactly a magazine picture.

Now, all that said - here is how I respond to myself:

Our house is surrounded by about 1 1/2 acres of woods and 1 1/2 acres of open land , which is exactly what we wanted. There's a huge, 3 car garage with lots and lots of storage room. There's a third bedroom which is my studio. Two bathrooms - the master has a shower and a corner tub (which I adore!), good sized closets, lots of windows with lovely views, a fireplace, a huge kitchen with loads of counter space and storage, a laundry room with a washer and a dryer. It's very quiet here. We're on top of a large hill (which does make driving up our gravel driveway interesting) so we have an awesome view for miles and miles ("I can see for miles and miles"). There's loads of wildlife (we heard two creeping around in the woods last night). Our neighbors, although are not friendly to the point where we're friends, they are super nice and have helped us many times! It's warm, dry, safe, and mine.

"No, it isn't all you wanted....but it's all YOU need to live a good and happy life - that's what's important. :)"

5) I make art. I can tell (other than just that I know) when I haven't been creative for a few days - I feel down, grumpy, just mentally yucky. A sense of accomplishment can go a long way, even if what I make goes no further than my own backyard, so to speak, feeling like I did something with the time I've been given is important to me feeling healthy.

So, there it is! Thank you Sandy, not only for thinking of me, but for giving me something to write about. :)

So, who to tag.......Kim, the absolute Queen of Arts, The Creatively Divine, Rose, and Serena, who Dreams with the Fishies.

~Snow Covered Birds~
Melissa

Thank~full Thursday

I know the power of thank~ful'ness, but often 'forget' to spend active time focusing on all the 'things' I am thank~full for. I used to do this more often....but I've gotten out of the habit. As a result, I have noticed that my attitude has shifted back toward the negative side. So in order to regain some balance, I'm going with "Thank~full Thursday."

I am thank~full for:

*Getting this post written. I don't know why, but I have been having so much trouble even saying anything at all. There's some kind of block there. But, YAY, I wrote a post! (it's funny, I wrote this one first, before I was done, and now, here I am...done!)

*In door plumbing. A thousand blessings to all that came up with that idea and put it into place!

*Litter boxes and litter - so our cats can do their 'business' and stay safely inside.

*Sex and the City - even though there aren't any new episodes....I still love to watch the old ones! How I Met Your Mother - smartest and funniest show I've ever seen!

*Music - right now it's the "Romancing the Stone" soundtrack - there's some cool jazzy tunes that I really like.

*Peanut butter and crackers and milk. It's not the best thing to eat, but it's something. Most of the time, I get so busy creating that I just don't eat. So, they're fast and they're easy.

*Trees....I still am captivated by looking out the windows and seeing all those trees, even when they are just skeletons of what they were several months ago.

*Money to buy Christmas presents and my hubby's job (even though it gets on my nerves sometimes).

*The ability to buy online!!!! and shop in my comfy pj's.

*Oh, there's one - PJ'S!! Love 'em! Live in 'em!

*Of course my hubby - for the kind spirit he is and for putting up with me as much as I put up with him. And daughter - for the awesome 17 year old that she is! She's been helping out around the house more without being asked. And for all the cats we can handle - the older cats are doing extremely well with the kittens and the kittens are so silly, they make me laugh!

* All the interesting, fun, real, creative, supportive, inspiring women I've met through this blog.

*Yesterday, while wandering around, like I do, I went to Serena's blog Dream with the Fishes and a super cute art piece caught my eye which lead me here, to Joanna Rowan Mullane's blog, Little Faerie Tales. As you can see from my sidebar, I signed up. ;)

* I'm still working on my Christmas exchange stuff. So far, so great! I am so happy with how it's all turning out. No pictures though, it's a surprise! :) I like it so much I actually thought about making some more and putting them up on Etsy. I'll have to see the final result first though. I'm a little nervous about the mailing though. But I am seriously so thank~full that it's turning out so nicely. YAY!

*Moonlight through trees, shining on my sleeping form.

*Me and my beautifull'ness and all my flaws.

*You and your beautifull'ness and all your flaws.

What are you thank~full for today?

~Warmth~
Melissa

Made for you blog

While I was wandering around etsy, I came across a post about this blog.

http://madeforyoublog.blogspot.com/

I thought it was a really neat idea. I am always amazed by how creative people are and by the beautiful items they can make.

Plus, I was happily surprised to see Holly Hobbie again. I miss her. :) I learned something....I need to wear more clothes that look like this.

These are just amazing (period).

There are so many wonderful things in the world!!!! For me, this a moment that corrects all the crappy things that have happened lately. The world really does have some pretty cool things about it. I'm thankful to remember this.

~YAY Today~
Melissa

What's on my walls?

Well, art of course! The pictures aren't the best, but I just wanted to share these.....

"She absolutely adores Her Precious Wild Self!"

"They came, from worlds unmapped. Their golden droplets of magick fell upon her cheeks. A glow immeasurable grew inside, each day a little bit more (Magick happens instantly over time. It's a matter of fact.) until the glorious day arrived when she was finally able to stand unabashedly naked in her truest self. Since that day, there are times she forgets or times she just can't, but they are eternally present and their golden droplets of magick never evaporate."

"Self Love elegantly adorns spirit!"

I heart her hair! Here's a close up. I used metallic paint, so it's a little hard to get a clean picture of it without the shimmer showing up.

These three are hooked together with wire.


"Growth happens Magickally"

"inner stillness is cultivated"



"Sunrise is a Miracle"

"The sea breeze lives forever inside this woman"



"Serenity nestled in her heart and changed the entire world"

This one is based off the idea of Alchemy - the chemistry of the Middle Ages, the chief aim of which was to change the baser elements into gold.

"As she grew, her base elements were given to her. In her middle ages, she turned into gold."

Today, I'm working on presents for the Christmas gift exchange.

~Ribbons and Bows~

Melissa