Finding Balance

January 2, 2014MiscellaneousCredit card, Credit history, Dave Ramsey, God, Holidays, Jesus, New year, United Statesgreeneyesmom

As I sit here on the second day of January in contemplation of how to start….the year, month, day…morning! Already saying UGH! Which is not a good sign. The full one day of the new year has already been …UMMMM……needles to say gut wrenching and if this is any sign of the next three hundred and sixty four days…..hang on to your hat…Here we go!

I have only one plan in place and that is to count the days and in this counting of the days tally up the ups and downs…..take stock each day of the distance I travel in the right direction. There will be downs and I am prepared. These are roads I have traveled numerous times. My hope is there will be many more ups and to acknowledge them as fuel to move forward even faster.

Time is short, I am old…older…..and that ain’t gonna change, but I can get better…back to that HOPE thang again….ugh! This is my challenge and as best as I can I will day by day accomplish the task. It doesn’t really feel like a mountain but more like a level flat line with little tic lines as if like a very long ruler and each day is divided into segments.

I have a list of objectives…moderations…….checks and balances. I tend to be a beinge worker. I clean house on days that involve top to bottom tasks…I take side roads; one thing leads to another and I am overwhelmed by the chores so I dread them. I paint in big blocks of time…in the “zone” and hope to be left alone to get what’s in my head out and let what’s in my spirit flow.

I am a huge procrastinator which tends to cause me to sit and ponder all the great feats I can do ……if only I had the time! This need for alone time is a family trait…..I come from people who are very self sufficient and that enjoy the peace and quiet. In my brain it’s all or nothing, for some reason I think …”someday I will be done with all these people and have time to do what I want!” BOO HOO!

POOR OLD TIRED MOM!…. I am sure my family would like to tell me to zip it! They know it’s not them (always)..usually it is me. My overly dramatic woe is me attitude is what I allow to sneak in…..so putting each day in doable increments may just work. The financial guru, Dave Ramsey preaches that “every dollar has a name” and I believe it so in that vein the minutes of my day will too.

Time for this southern girl to get on with it….this year looks as if it will be a whopper and I am on the verge of greatness… I have art to create, books to read, people to meet and relationships to nurture. I am the one that can create change and with the Lord’s help stop settling for the sad and mundane. I was created for greatness and I will walk in it….

Milestones-three hundred and sixty five more chances

December 31, 2013Miscellaneouschildren, Christmas, Cook, diets, Dumplings Chicken, God, Hillary, Holidays, New year, new years resolutions, Olympic sports, United States, weight lossgreeneyesmom

Here we are again, the dawn of a new year….leaving behind the ups and downs of the last year…looking forward to what’s next. I adore the opportunity for new possibilities, doors to be opened or roads to travel. Each one brings hope, some of them may be not so great but there is always that moment of question…anticipation…the unknown.

Like most Americans, I must acknowledge (..or at least act like I should!)….the need for a better diet as well as an exercise program which for me is…..just parking my car further away from the door; the hope for financial security and good health and my family to prosper. We all have in our minds, resolutions ….that we hold dear, hoping against hope that we make it past January without failure.

These resolutions or “goals” are many and the start of a new year jump-start us in the right direction. God bless our hearts for the effort! I have said for the past six years, in my heart, that I do not want to be in the same shape (in all areas) this time next year and I think this next year may be the winner. I have a hope that is beyond me. Beyond my brain and into my soul, my heart…..hope.

My anticipation is starting…what will it be first? Will it be the loss of five or fifty (it could happen!) Pounds? Will it be a true love for one of my four kids?(oops! Excluding my seventeen year old!)…Will it be the welcoming of many new souls born into to kingdom of God…I hope so!

Whatever “IT” is…..I look forward to the challenge. We got this ….we spunky Americans are stubborn and bold and will not stop till we get what we want. Yes, Hillary Clinton….it does take a village and we will always stand together against anyone who tries to push us around. Our individual families as well as our towns and country will always overcome.

Today I conquered a challenge, silly as it may sound, but I have for the first time ever….wait for it…….made/cooked dumplings, chicken and dumplings actually. My sister did it first on Christmas day, they were de-lish! I know the secret now ……..so I tried it. It is ALL ABOUT THE BROTH!! This has been my probably twentieth try…..finally successful!

This southern girl needed to do this one….my mom was the pro at them, but sadly she will make no more of them, my granny who taught my mom was a ….card-carrying member of the southern woman’s chicken and dumplings cooking team. It could be an Olympic sport. SHE WAS A MASTER!

I now am proud to say I have done it…EUREAKA!!!!! Superbly I might add and I will brag about it……a Milestone-three hundred and sixty five more chances to do something great…..welcome new year!

Oh what a day!

October 26, 2013Miscellaneousart, artists, bell buckle, desserts, painting, tngreeneyesmom

Today was a good day, I fought some big fears and broke through some boundaries and came out alive. I am now here to tell the story! A little cold, it was suppose to be 61 degrees and sunny, but as it always is….nope, much more chilly and partial sun and then down right cold and cloudy. Yet, mission accomplished, I did it! I painted out in the open air….in the daylight….around people who were watching……and I didn’t die! Whew! I got through the first step in recovery….I admitted it!

It has been eleven E-L-E-V-E-N! years since I have put myself through this kind of torment…..that was at a big crafts fair. This venue was much smaller, more one on one and there were great artist/painters there. People who do this a lot, travel around and paint….in front of people…like it is nothing! They paint beautiful landscapes, and portraits and little corners of houses up close and detailed. All kinds of impressive examples of their skills……while I paint…um, well, I don’t even know what to call it.

I am in a zone, on a binge, on the cusp of something potentially mediocre!…..I mean GREAT! Well, maybe not great actually, but okay for me. I like it and it speaks to me and I enjoy it…BUT….. as the man walked up to my easel today and said…”hmmm, different!, which by the way is parent code for…”I don’t have a clue what it is but because you did it it is GREAT!!!” Or maybe it was so bad he was polite…the inference was there though. Oh well, what ya gonna do?

Just keep on painting and see what happens! Newspaper article today–http://www.t-g.com/gallery/bbpleinair2013/

Also, I was so fortunate to meet a local artist (he lives locally but his work is far-reaching, I mean!)… and his wife, Micheal and Madonna Bush. They opened their home to us all who were involved and it was a treat to be included. I was overwhelmed at his collection of Art as well as his own talents in his studio. To view first hand his studio and his work in progress was an enriching and defining moment in this wanna be artists life. It was a pleasure as well as a proponent to ignite fire in my belly to create. My head is spinning from the sights and as if I had eaten the best desert in the world and way too much of it…I just could not take in any more! Too much fun, too much enlightenment, too much too much. I do not have words nor crayola crayons in my coloring box to truly express this event. I have been blessed.

OH WHAT A DAY!!!!

See the Artist W. Michael Bush—http://wmichaelbushartist.com/

A day for painting…out of doors!

October 25, 2013Miscellaneousgreeneyesmom

For all the Moon Pie and RC fans there is yet another reason to partake and have a stroll in Bell Buckle, TN Saturday, October 26, 2013, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Railroad Square, Bell Buckle, TN. See Painters creating Art on site Railroad Square.

What the heck is plein air you ask?

plein air or plein–air (pl n âr , pl -n r ). adj. 1. Of or being a style of painting produced out of doors in natural light.

Meet the Artists, View their work and buy their paintings. This is sure to be a day of crisp fall air and a satisfying event for all who gather. There are fourteen artists participating who will be hands on creating and enjoying painting in the natural light. We look forward to seeing all admirers of Art as well as Moon Pie and RC!

Presented By the Bell Buckle Arts Council

…and yes, I am braving the humiliation and painting also….Lord help me!