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Sunday is a day of sharing beauty at Slurping Life.
Excessive words are not necessary. Simply visit A Walk Through Durham Township and savor the beauty of Kathleen Connally's photography. Do make time to visit there for a while.
I found Jackal through cre8Buzz. Janine is a beautiful person and a talented photographer. If a picture is worth a thousand words, visiting the links below will reveal hundreds of thousands of words...
Jackal's Flickr
Janik - Red Bubble
Jackal's Blog - Read Janine's writings of her life, her struggle, her photography...her attempt to merge them and move forward.
She inspires me.
There is nothing more beautiful than birth...the gift of life.
Kristen's twin girls are miracles. Kristen's mom, Grandma Dawn, is providing most of the updates and photos. Visit Kristen and Dawn and leave your well-wishes and please, remember the baby girls and family in your prayers.
The blogging world is full of eloquent, talented bloggers. Many of these bloggers begin or pass awards to other bloggers whom they find thoughtful, creative or inspiring. I think that is down right awesome.
As a blogging mom I am humbled and honored to be on the receiving end of several of these awards. I continue to struggle with wrapping my brain around the fact that anyone finds me, my ramblings or photos inspiring. I rationalize it by giving the credit to God and to my amazing sons who have overcome the odds stacked against them...who continue to fight the good fight in their daily struggles...who are just downright clever and cute. They are the source of my writings and photos.
I am long overdue in accepting the following blogging awards...
Phyllis of Ima On (and Off) The Bima awarded me the Blogging Star Award...
This award is for bloggers who shine their light throughout the
Blogosphere. Some do it with humor, others with creativity, and others
with their kind and thoughtful natures. We all know more than a few of them so why not give them some recognition? 
Here's what to do if you receive this:
* Proudly display it on your blog along with a link to who gave it to you.
* Mention that it originated here at Skittles' Place so I can follow its journey.
* Pass it on to any blogger(s) you think should have it
Being told that you shine is an unbelievable feeling. Phyllis, thank you for passing the Blogging Star to me. Whenever I visit Ima my soul definitely feels the glow, and I never fail to open my mind and heart a little more.
~~~
Sara at Life With The Two has given me the Wonder Woman Award.
When I told my husband about this one all he had to say was "Well, where's the skimpy, tight-fighting costume?" Let's not let him take us there. Then I did a Google and discovered the source of the Wonder Woman award. Seems a loving husband inspired it all. Sara has furthered honored me in a way I never expected. Without realizing it she has given me perhaps the highest blogging award thus far. Sara, thank you, My prayers follow you along your journey. You are a blessing to many.
~~~
Bonnie of Simple Beauty has given me the Change Begins At Home Award.
About the award...
The "Change Begins at Home" award originated at Bean Sprouts Blog Here is what she says about it: The "Change Begins at Home" award, this is given to bloggers who live what they preach, who try to make the changes in their own lives that they would like to see in the world.
I definitely want to be known for practicing what I preach, but gee, I fall short much more than any of you will ever know. So just don't put me up there on the proverbial pedestal. I'm so human, real and faulty, but I do try to be honest and practice what I preach. I began blogging just to tell the world that kids with special needs are still kids...treat them as such.
Bonnie, thank you for this award, and thank you for touching my life with astounding beauty.
There are so many bloggers deserving of these awards and more. I'm not sure that the majority of mom bloggers realize their power and influence...their talents and gifts. Mom bloggers, women bloggers...give yourselves a hug. I love me some dad bloggers, too, but right now I'm all about the ladies.
I reserve my right to pass these awards to other bloggers at a later date. Many things are taking a lot of my time at the moment, and I am a bit behind on blog reading. You never know when I'll strike...or where.
Sunday is my day of sharing a little beauty. Beauty is found in that which is created from the heart...
Bonnie of Simple Beauty has begun a new blog...Flowers In My Pocket. It's a beautiful virtual garden obviously created from her heart...her love of flowers and photography.
Go, visit, and be sure to let Bonnie know you dropped by.
Sunday is my day of sharing a little beauty. Beauty is found in that which is created from the heart...
The photography here is definitely from the heart. Take few moments and browse the gallery of Latchiko. I love that not only are the processed images shown, but the original photos as well.
Sunday at Slurping Life is a day of sharing beauty. Beauty is found in that which is created from the heart.
It's almost the deadline for posting my completed Wrapped Emotions project for this week, and honestly, I almost forgot to do it. Spending a lot of time observing, enjoying the world around me and saying "wow" has taken my mind to a new level of contentment...it's a refreshing vantage point. Much like climbing to the mountain peak, looking out and photographing the entire world with one click. I like it.
From my present vantage point came the realization that there is no reason to continue to procrastinate with want-to-dos, projects...dreams. Last week I realized it was time to overcome the stressful fear found in not trusting myself, and as a result, this week has been much brighter for myself and my family.
Life entrances me. I want to learn, soak up knowledge...even more than knowledge, I want to deeply inhale every moment of life equally...the moments spent plunging a toilet...feeling an autumn breeze against my skin. I want to use my word countless times before this brief earthly life passes.
So this week's graffiti project was done very quickly this morning in the true spirit of a graffiti artist. I had a message and my art was created quickly without a thought process. As I worked it, the piece looked rather blah to me. It was only after completing it that the depth of the multi-layers became apparent. There are words buried in there that you cannot see, but still they bring forth the message..much like emotions that are hidden deep within myself, yet they make me the whole. Those deep emotions subliminally create who I am. The end result of the colors are jeweled, deep and rich even though they appeared extremely drab, uninspiring during the process.
It truly is after completing a piece of art that the beauty is revealed...the message is spoken. Perhaps if we step back and look at our lives through the view of "whole" rather than harping on the little drab spots, the hard times would not be so overwhelming...the jewel tones of the rich, beauty of our lives would be revealed to ourselves now...rather than only to others after the piece of art which is our lives is complete.
Step back...take a long, loving look at the whole image of your life. Do you see the jewel tones...the rich beauty? It's there...keep looking...
~~~
What I did...
First on the journal page I painted two layers of gesso. Then using a metal skewer I scratched textures and lines, squiggles over the page. Next I took a black marker and wrote words...wow, joy, love...and ink stamped the word smile a few times. With black ink I placed several of my thumb prints. Then I squirted acrylic paints and a gel medium in lines and squiggles and scraped them across the page using an old credit card. The gel keeps the paint workable longer and I dabbed the colors with a paper towel. When dry I wrote the words "do it now" and using a white oil pastel crayon, I colored over the entire page. Then using the same paper towel from above, I smudged, rubbed and softened the effect. Using several colors of oil pastels, I quickly traced some of the textured lines that had been etched into the beginning gesso layer. None of this was a thought out process. I just had fun. It was a joy to create.
~~~
Take a moment and inhale the beauty created by several introspective, creative women.
Welcome to my day of sharing a little beauty. Beauty is found in that which is created from the heart...
A new blog I plan to frequent...Tangled Wings. She shares beauty through her photography, her poetry and more. Sit back with a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy.
Wishing you a Sunday filled with beautiful smiles.
Sunday at Slurping Life is a day of sharing beauty. Beauty is found in that which is created from the heart.
I discovered the beauty of finishing my art journal cover last night.
(If you click the photo you get a larger image and can read the stickers)
I also discovered that I am a procrastinator at beginning any project in my life. My problem lies in that I make the assumption that something or someone will interrupt, therefore, it is necessary to find a huge chunk of time alone to begin in order to complete. Life is what we think it is...have you noticed that? We truly have much power over making our reality. I will be working on my mindset.
However, I also realized that I work best under pressure...being forced to get it done NOW. It is the nature of life around here because the personalities and needs of this family are extreme and often acute...I am constantly forced to function under the pressure of dealing with issues of bipolar disorder, autism, cerebral palsy, PMS (whatever). I now understand that's the way it is, and you know what, I'm good at working under pressure. Although a quiet lulling day now and then is soooooo nice.
Look, I even mounted my second Wrapped Emotions project in my art journal. My first project was originally done in the journal. Rolling right along...
Visit Wrapped Emotions for links to the beauty participants are creating...with their hands, minds and hearts. We hope you'll join us in our journey...to create, connect, express yourself.
