TMW for April is RE~Claim Part 2

It is going to take me longer than one month to RE~Claim my life...not sure what I was thinking BUT I'm not going to question I'm just moving forward. I didn't think I would start in my art studio...I thought it could/would be other aspects of my life that I would start reclaiming. Starting April 8th Catherine and I  will be starting our 2nd round of The {21} Challenge. So stay tuned to see what I RE~Claim this month!

re·claim tr.v. re·claimed, re·claim·ing, re·claims 
1. "to get something back"
2. to bring back

From Letter Love 101 Workshop with Joanne Sharpe

The Word for April: Self-Care

I looked for a better word -- that meant the same thing but couldn't decide on one. 

<get>healthy

commitment {to self}

intention 

They all sounded pretty lame so I decided to stick with {self}care. It looks like one word when you add the brackets to it, LoL. After successfully completing the 21 Day Challenge for art journaling and FINDING the time when I had practically none to art journal even if only for a few minutes -- I decided that my next 21 {to infinity} challenge is to get healthy again. 

When I met my husband I was a die-hard gym rat. I worked out 7 days a week -- if it wasn't at the gym lifting weights or running on the treadmill it was riding my bike for 20 miles at a time or walking. I did Yoga. Took Spin Classes. Went cross-country skiing. 

I was outside.

enjoying.

nature.

I never go outside anymore -- I never have time to. Because I'm always at home. Working. It's been hard -- up until now -- to call doing what I love and am passionate about work. But, it has. 

My family goes camping. I stay home + work.

They go to the movies. I stay home + work.

They do TONS of things. I stay home + work. 

I also used to have lunch with friends on a regular basis, have art play dates, work in my gardens, take classes, dress nice in clothes not covered in paint, clean my house, learn new things, decorate for the holidays -- AND I NEVER EVER EVER MISSED my Mother's Birthday like I did this year -- I could go on. 

For the last 2 weeks I have done nothing but work work work. So I've decided that starting on April 8th -- when I'm done with my current deadline -- I'm gonna take care of me

Saturday my husband bought me some snappy new sneakers and cool socks and starting then I'm going to add the exercise back into my daily schedule, do fun things with friends and generally have lots of {self}care goin' on! Wish me luck ;-D 

Make sure to come back tomorrow to see what Martha Richardson's word for the month is!

 

TMW for March was Re~Claim. I had other intentions but the best laid plans...lol! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. A little background info to help with this...Last May, after 5 years of joking around, my husband gave up his HUGE studio and gave it to me. I went from the smallest of 4 bedrooms to the second largest and because he does photography/videography he most certainly could not move into my tiny space. We made a 3 bedroom switch, which of course, still isn't finished!

So fast forward....on March 11th I came across Rhonna Farrer's {21} Challenge blog post. I've participated before but always being one willing to create or change another habit I decided I was sooooo in. This time the suggestion was made to document on a daily basis and I chose to do this by posting on Instagram {if you would like to follow me you will find me HERE}. 

Today I'm going to share with you what I challenged my self to do and the end results. I didn't make it through the 21 days...I made it through 14. Last week was a killer week with many things going on. My {21} Challenge was to finish creating a studio that worked for ME! Here are my photos.

Day 1 

Day 2 

Day 3

Day 4 Workshop at Serenity Studio Arts

Day 5 & 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

DAy 11 & 12

Day 13

Day 14

I'm so pleased with what I accomplished but I want to finish what I started. My partner in crime, here at THE MONTHLY WORD,  and I have decided to do our own {21} Challenge starting next week. I'm continuing you with my studio. You can read here what Catherine is doing.

Stop back tomorrow to see what Catherine's TMW is for April.

CONGRATULATIONS to Catherine Matthews Scanlon for being chosen as a member of the Sizzix Design Team 2013.

TMW: Breathe

I'm having a hard time believing that March is coming to a close today! 

Where has the time gone -- well most of it for me has been spent working. Hardly leaving the house -- no hair cuts or lunch out with friends, basic shopping trips nothing. 

 

Just plain old work -- any day that ended with "day" was also a "work" day. So, the word I chose to think about for March was breathe. I knew I had a busy month ahead and remembering to breathe was something that I needed. 

However many times (I can't really count it was so many) I caught myself holding my breathe.

why is that? 

for me I think it's because I was and get so focused on what I'm doing that my basic, involuntery breathing pattern is interrupted, LoL. Probably not but whatever it is I wish it wasn't. 

I wonder if you can pass out from concentrating on what you are doing for SO long that you just forget to breathe for like 5 minutes or something. LoL. 

Anyway, moving on. March was a stressful, busy and extremely frustrating month. It was 31 days full of road blocks, computer issues, lack of inspiration AND I was racked with self-doubt -- on top of being 2 weeks behind schedule -- which doesn't bode well with my current teaching schedule -- and missing two birthdays -- my Mother and Brother. Sheesh, I did not enjoy one day of the month of March. Not ONE bit -- well -- actually I did enjoy a few but you get the picture. It was a month full of work work work and totally lacking in fun -- or anything that I enjoy doing.

 

So, knowing all this -- you will NOT be surprised when you hear what my word for April is. :-D

I hope you had a GREAT month -- make sure to come back tomorrow and read all about Martha's month!

Thanks for stopping by!

TMW for March ~ RE-Claim

After all day of mulling over my monthly word for March it finally hit me in the head. To have order in my life I must first RE~Claim my LIFE...yes that's it!

re·claim tr.v. re·claimed, re·claim·ing, re·claims 
1. "to get something back"
2. to bring back

Have you thought about your word for March?

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you came back at the end of the month to see what Catherine & I have created.

My Word for March

After a bit of thought and a VERY stressFUL few weeks I've chosen my word for March -- breathe. As in, take a deep breath and relax. It will all get done -- just remember to look at the world around you and breathe in the beauty I am surrounded by. 
 

So happy that I noticed this beautiful blossom. This African Violet was a baby that I transplanted from another plant about a year ago -- and this is the first time it is spreading the love and sharing its beauty! 

Thanks for stopping by -- have a great weekend!  
Catherine 

Anti-crastinate....I can do that!

The word I chose for February was a good one for me -- since I procrastinate (or maybe just wait until the last minute to do things) I thought that anti-crastinate would be a good word to think about. Anti-crastinate is the opposite of pro-crastinate -- it means just to get up and do it. Don't wait for tomorrow -- do it now.

What I didn't take into consideration was that everyone in this house would get sick -- and then pass it around  like it was cool until it came back to me. Needless to say, my best laid plans of getting things done in a stress-free way didn't work. I was couch bound for a week. We had 3 major snow storms. School vacation happened. la la la. So many good reasons my plan for a stress-free month didn't happen. 

I did do a pretty GREAT job of finding and keeping a cute little monthly calendar to keep track of my schedule -- meetings, classes, haircuts etc. (It felt really good to cross off some really BIG things off this week!! ) Having that really helped me manage and remember what it is I need to do every day and is most likely the reason I was able to stay on task when I finally got down to business. 

 

 

What it boils down to is -- even though I did get it ALL done -- it was because I worked my BUTT off for the last week and a half. I worked from the minute I got up  -- all day and into the night. Stopping only to chitty chat with my kiddo when he got home from school, cook and eat dinner and then it was back to work until bed time.

 

I also remembered that last year one of my goals was to learn to say no. Or to come up with an alternative to what someone wants me to do and make it work for them AND me. And that really worked!

 

And I realized, really -- that what it boils down for me is -- I just want to make art. Pretty, bright colored patterns in books, on walls and everywhere. And sell it. I felt myself longing for studio time just to play with paint and put colors on a board.

So my goal for this year -- my short-term goal -- is to do just that. Make art. That's it. Oh, and take care of my family by eating healthy and trying to find time to exercise, and teaching, and maybe a little blogging. And the Monthly Word. I'll always find the time for that. And the Whatevers.

Oh wait -- what happened to saying no?? I guess I'll just have to not get sick again for the rest of the year -- I just have to many things that I REALLY, really ReAlLy WANT to do.

So thanks for joining me today, for my Monthly Word. Stay tuned as Martha and I reveal what our word is for March.....I don't think you will be surprised at what I choose ;-D