Trying my hand at jewelry design...dabbling in photography...being a Mamma and sharing the life inspirations I encounter are what bring joy to my heart!
A few of the new pieces I put together this weekend. I may have an issue though....I love everything so much that I might have a hard time letting go....I think that's a good sign!
Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.
It's moving to see how one small act of kindness really touches people so deeply. There is no greater feeling than to be loved. We are loved by our spouses, our parents, our children and our friends. Would we say that we are loved by strangers? Why shouldn't we......It shouldn't matter if we know someone or not we should feel love for that person as a human being...as another spirit here on earth. We have all come from the same place and one day we will all be together again in a different place. I believe that an even greater gift which brings infinite joy is the ability to love another person...love is caring..love is a smile..love is sharing and love is as simple as an act of kindness...pretty simple in my mind.
The other day when I was walking to work I got to an intersection dowtown and heard a "Good morning"...I looked and it was a young man...I said good morning back...he proceeded to say that he had been trying to sell his "stuff" for hours and was I interested in purchasing a sub woofer! Hmmmmm....I replied "I'm not in the market for a sub woofer this morning"... : ) he said "What about a bike?"....the bike was a frame..."If you have a little one this could be a good start...all you would need to do is buy tires, a seat, handle bars..."Again I replied..."Sorry don't need a bike frame". Reading this I'm sure you would come to the same conclusion that I did about the "stuff" but you know what...I think all he really was looking for that morning was to have a conversation. It doesn't always need to be a conversation, sometimes just a "hello" or a smile to someone you don't know is what really could make their day. The little acts don't cost anything and everyone gets to feel good...that's what it's all about.....I hope that everyone can share a little act of kindness whenever an opportunity presents itself.
I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
A "Pink Flutter" Today we were watching my brother and sister in laws dog for the day. I was in my room putting my make up on and Anthony was there chatting with me....Zoe came in and we both looked at her....she had a white feather on her nose. I looked at Anthony and gasped in delight and he looked at me and said "Mamma..it's from Kari and Jayda!"....my heart melted.......xox I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to see the little blessings that have come my way....I think about Kari and Jayda every day and I am grateful that my little boy Anthony carries them close to his heart also....We love you so much!
I came across this quote on one of my favorite sites: www.thecreativemama.com and it really rings true for what I have been doing the past 7 months.
I have always been creative.....when I was young I was always drawing and my favorite class in high school was Visual Communications, I even filled a spare with an extra class......my friends thought I was crazy to give up free time but I looked forward to that extra time in the lab. I learned how to use a 35mm camera, develop pictures in a dark room, make multi level silk screen prints and operate a printing press. I loved it!! Now that I am older I can say that I wish I would have pursued or even further developed my skills further. The creative side of me went into hiding for a long time and was scratching at the surface trying to come out again. It was a couple of years ago that I felt a strong urge to "create" but I didn't know what that was to be. I had purchased a digital SLR and enrolled in a class.....I thought.."this is it!" but it wasn't. I do enjoy taking pictures but I can't say that it comes naturally like a lot of talented photographers out there. The jewelry making has taken a few different directions already and I find myself still trying to figure out my "niche"......I tried making alot of beaded stuff, little earrings, stretch bracelets and now on to the bigger funkier stuff. If I were to describe my personal style I think I would say I was Classy with a bit of Sassy mixed in. I am always looking for the bit of "funky" to add to anything that I do so perhaps this is what my jewelry will be reflective of....I am excited to be able to nurture the creative in me and I am equally as excited to be learning more about the spiritual side of me. I am always open to learning and growing and I open my hands and heart to what the next steps may be......
Here are a few different things I have come up with lately.
You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. ~Wayne Gretzky
What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? ~Robert H. Schuller
I have known Adrijana since she was teenager hanging out with my nieces Kari and Shauna. Since I lived with my sister Charlene and her family I got to know many of my nieces friends...It has been a pleasure to get to know Adrijana and to watch her grow into a beautiful woman. I was honored to be invited to her wedding shower. I took along a pair of earrings that I had made to give to Adrijana so that she could have a Kari keepsake. She was touched and said that he was going to wear them on her wedding day. I didn't expect her to so I honestly didn't give much thought to it. Another one of Kari and Shauna's friends, Tosh, was the photographer for Adrijana's wedding. I was looking at all of the amazing memories she captured and the following picture melted my heart!!
She is wearing the earrings I made!! I was so moved that she felt that the earrings were pretty enough to be worn on such a special, beautiful day. She told me that Kari was excited to go to her wedding so it meant alot to be able to have Kari there in spirit with her. Her spirit was joined by Jayda and Evan. xox
That first bright step into the sunshine of life
begins with the opening of the family cocoon.
The caterpillar becomes a butterfly
spreading her wings into the world.
What she is today is but a tiny mirror.
of the transformation that is yet to come.
For with time, love, humor and warmth
She is an ever changing masterpiece.
Whether as wife, mother, career woman or all,
she will find her center of peace.
A place that is hers and hers alone,
the essence of what she is and will be.
Using the instincts that each of us have
to find the good in each other.
to be a caring friend, lover, helper and playmate,
to listen and share, to laugh and to cry.
With loving support of family and friends,
she takes flight down an unknown road towards her future,
like the rising of the sun in the east.
Each day filled with new beginnings.
Finding excitement and challenge at each new turn.
Her flight through life filled with many happy adventures
and memories to put in her book of life,
as the sun moves along that steady path across the sky.
When the sun at last begins to set in the west
and her flight nears its end, she can look back along her path
and know that she has been everything she can be
and has done her very best.
Happy New Year! As the new year starts I am reflecting back on 2011 and the challenges I faced along with my family, my friends and my collegues. We all have crosses to bear and it is how we carry them that teaches us how to manage the journey. It was an extremely challenging year but I can honestly say that it was one that has taught me so many things about myself. I discovered that I have more inner strength than I ever imagined but at the same time that same inner strength was tested on so many different levels by so many different circumstances. When we go through life we don't always see what we are meant to see at that point in time. As I reflect back on the past year I see things in a different light....maybe time needs to pass in order for all of the pieces to fit together and to make sense. Kari showed up on my doorstep in November of 2010 needing my help but little did I know then that she is the one that taught me things about myself that I never knew...or perhaps didn't think I needed to learn. I don't quite know what all of that is at this moment but I had a profound moment that I believe has changed me! It was on December 8th (Kari's birthday) that I got a wink from God...or a whisper in theear or maybe it was a tap on the shoulder but any way you want to say it I got a message...this one from Kari! I had told my husband Tony that on this day I wanted to go to Kari's grave to take her a gift. It was something I had planned on but when that day came I found myself questioning my decision. I thought to myself "Kari is in my heart....do I really need to go to her grave...it's a long drive...it's rush hour"...a whole bunch of waffling as I called it. I got home from work and Tony asked if we were going. We went into the kitchen and I started to talk to him about all of the thoughts I was having. He finally looked at me and said "Katherine...I don't know what to say to you"....at that very moment the phone rang. I answered it and the girl on the other line asked for Kari! I got off the phone, looked at Tony and he immediately said "We are going"......no one has called our house for her since she moved out a year ago and we get a call at that very moment of indecisiveness on her birthday!! No question it was Kari.....it was a Katherine, you know what you want to do so just do it! My Mother said it best... "I can talk myself out of any situation"....I have a tendency to not listen to my intuition and not trust my abilities. I need to..as most of us do...slow down and take in what is being offered to us on a daily basis. There is so much more to this life that is so much bigger and if we take the time to be aware and open to it it can bring us peace and contentment and a life of constant learning and understanding. I believe that phone call changed my life in a profound way and it was the first of many lessons that Kari will teach me....each time I think of her and our last chapter together I gain more understanding and appreciation for what I will be able to learn from her.....
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce
