15 Minutes

I hope you did your homework today - I did!  I devoted some time to playing a game on the computer (I'm obsessed with the Sims) and also played an XBox game for a little while.  I also did four loads of laundry and asked Mike to help out by gathering the trash and doing some dishes.

The laundry is difficult for me to put away because the bedroom is a complete mess and I find myself wondering what difference it's going to make to put the clothes away.  I'm working on getting over that mindset and getting to a point where things will be cleaned and organized and Mike and I will work together.  Right?

Well, here are the photos of the artwork I did yesterday.  I hope you enjoy!

"Hearts"

"Purple flowers"
I need to figure out how to mount these like this...

Did you take your 15 minutes to do something for you?  Leave a comment or fill out the poll - let us know what you did!

Remember that it's good to share fun things with your friends and family.  I hope you take 30 seconds to share my blog with someone you care about so that we can spread the word to love every day.

Taking Time for Myself

You know, this blog is something I do because I want to (sometimes). I don't always want to write this - every single day. As you can see, my thoughts and emotions get so overwhelming that I have let this get away from me. I get too immersed in my every day responsibilities and don't allow myself the 15 minutes that it takes to write this for all of you. Don't get me wrong, I like writing. I love it. I feel as though I need to make sure that this is uplifting for all of you. It is about making a decision to love every day. I apologize that I haven't been able to keep up with it all the time for you. I realize that it can be very difficult to do every single day. It's a big commitment.  But don't be afraid.  I'm here for you.  The readers are here for you.  Share this with others so that they all can be here for you too.

So..  About my day...  About what I did to remind myself of the responsibility of loving every day...

I got to sleep in and spend some time alone today.  I went window shopping at WalMart and Target and also stopped at Blick to get a couple of new paint colors.  I painted a little too when I got home.  It was really great to get out and hang out by myself with nowhere specific to go or a specific time to be there.  Now, I'm looking at the clock and realizing that I didn't do anything productive around the apartment but reminding myself that it's okay - even good - to have a day of nothing every once in a while.

My responsibilities for the day were ignored and now have a day crammed with some responsibilites tomorrow. Laundry, getting dog food, getting easy dinners, cleaning dishes, cleaning out the bird cages and vacuuming. Hopefully, Mike will help me and I need to be comfortable with asking for help. That's my goal tomorrow along with spending 15 minutes doing something that I want to do for myself. I may stop at Payless and get a pair of shoes. Or I'll paint. Or if it's beautiful again, I'm going for a short walk with my camera.

What did you do today?  Did you get to spend a whole day doing nothing or was your day filled up with chores and other responsibilities?  If you did have to do responsible things today, did you spend at least 15 minutes of your day doing something just for you because you wanted to? 

One of the things that's getting easier for me to do is doing something that I want to do; something for me; something that I really want to do.  The most difficult parts are feeling okay with doing these things and reminding myself that I don't have to justify how I feel.  I have a right to feel like doing something - or nothing - and there isn't necessarily a reason. 

I have a homework assignment for those of you who have a similar problem as I do.  Take 15 minutes out of your day tomorrow and do something that you want to do.  Read, write, draw, paint, drive around town, stop at the mall, get a vanilla shake from Portillo's (which I almost did today), go for a walk, close your eyes, play with a child - with permission.  I don't care what you do - do something for you!  Then get back to your responsibilities but remember why you stopped in the first place.  Loving every day is what it's all about.  Without love, there is no life.

New Desk!

I got my desk today!  The girl who sold it to me on Craigslist was so great - she dropped it off for us on her way to work. 

I hope to get two bookcases from IKEA to go on both sides of the desk but for now, the DVD bookshelf will have to be sufficient.

I varnished one of my paintings today so it is complete.

Then I tried shading and blending with the paint...

That's about it for today.  I have a massive migraine that hasn't given up and am feeling really sick and drained.  I also didn't sleep much last night so I'm off to bed early again.  Hopefully, my meds will kick in and I'll be able to sleep.

I hope you all had a good day & were had something to feel proud and excited about.  See you tomorrow.

I Think I'm Sick...

So I woke up this morning with a tight & sore throat, headache and congestion.  I didn't sleep well (felt like I woke up every 45 minutes or so) and have been exhausted today.  I tried to work on my craft room but wasn't able to do much so I played on the computer for a little while, lounged on the couch and am back in bed.

I guess I don't really have a lot to say but Mike was really nice to me today.  He was concerned about me getting sick and let me know that I don't have to do any work like for my craft room or making dinner.  I did run out to get some food - pizza, soup, Carnation breakfast... 

I hope that you're all feeling okay and if you're not, that you have someone to help you feel like you're not lazy even though you didn't do anything today.  He's even being great & taking the dogs out right now without even asking me to help.  He's great today <3

Have a good night.  I'll try to remember to post something tomorrow, even if I don't have much to say.

Help! I've Fallen Off the Face of the Earth!

Sorry it's been so long.  Things haven't been going very well over here and as I'm sure most of you know, it's very difficult to focus on anything positive when you're not feeling the best.  I think I'm getting sick on top of some of the emotional stuff which of course, is even more fun.

Anyway, my husband and I have been talking about a lot of different things.  We're going to stick it out here in our apartment for the next year and when the lease is up we're going to do one of the following things:  move to Chicago, move to San Francisco, rent a much cheaper apartment (so we can save more money) or try to buy a home.

Anyway, in the meantime to make sure that we're able to do what we want and need to do - alone and together - we've decided that I'm going to convert our den into my craft room - or as he phrases it, my "girl cave."  LOL

Sometimes people are smart and actually remember to take photographs of the "before" instead of in the middle as a "during" photo but I figured I'd stop in to say hello and show what I've been working on.

So here are the "during" photos.  Basically, you're missing out on a very big, dirty mess and this is just the clutter that comes up when you're trying to go through boxes you never moved out of and are trying to start from scratch when you don't have a scratch to start from.  Does that make sense?

The idea here is to put a desk alone the far wall (next to the rocking chair) and eventually put some IKEA bookshelves on both sides of the desk.  Then, there will be one of our tv's where the bicycle is, hopefully hang the bicycle outside and the baker's rack will store most of my craft supplies.  The desk I'm getting (it will arrive on Monday) is in the photo below.

It's about 4 feet wide and a perfect height.

It's so perfect for what I've been looking for.  It's a large workspace and it's sturdy enough to handle a sewing machine.

I need a chair though...  I like this one from IKEA but it's so expensive.  Let me know if any of you know of a similar chair for about $5-10.  No cushion necessary.  Anyone looking to get my anything for a belated birthday present or for Christmas, please feel free to get me an IKEA gift card.

Well, I guess that about sums up what I've been loving this week.  More work tomorrow and Monday but I'll try to get back on top of things & not disappear again.  I hope things are going well for you all.  Happy November!

Mom, This is for You!

You know...  Mom's are great.  They're made to give you love, guidance, support, discipline and even a kick in the ass sometimes.

I've gotten really behind on household cleaning and have gotten to the point where nobody is allowed inside because I am so embarrassed.

Today, my mom was wonderful!  She came over to my apartment with paper towels and trash bags in hand and spent 3 hours with me cleaning the main areas of my apartment.  All the dishes are clean, the floor is vacuumed, the bathroom completely scrubbed clean.  We even got the Spic & Span and washed the baseboards. 

Of course, there are still other things that need to be done but I will have to do most of that with my husband since it's mostly organizational.

So for today, a tribute to my mom.  The best mother anyone could ever ask for.

Next to a fancy car outside Houlihan's - for my birthday dinner 2010

At PF Chang's restaurant

October 2009?  At IHOP - Wow, we eat out a lot!

Looking so cute!

In Lake Geneva Wisconsin - she's on a boat!

Once again, I LOVE my mom!!!