My Holiday Wish for You

Kitty Habits

I entered the room

Kitty purred when I asked him,

"Where did your legs go????"

Simplifying LIfe

Changing my blog to

Digestible chunks of life

Life lessons through art

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mattresses, But Didn't Know to Ask

I'm the first to admit I don't have over an hour to listen to a thorough education on mattresses. But....since I heard Labor Day kicks off mattress sale season...and I never once realized mattresses have to be replaced every ten years or so...I decided to learn all I could about mattresses and this was the best video I could find to do so.
I'm ashamed to admit how old my mattress really is. And I was ready to follow the proud Temperpedic owners until I saw this video.
If you don't have an hour to view this video...it's pretty easy to still listen while multitasking. There are only a few spots you may want to pay attention to visuals.
After watching this video I feel I can walk the planet feeling knowledgable about what to look for in a mattress. And I can even ask my holistic doctor to prescribe the one this innovator invented.
Oh the things we can learn on the internet!!!!

Living Your Passion is not a Luxury

 Art has been my go-to world to get through all life hurdles and shocks. Art comes in a vast variety of forms, too, so the ideas and art-portunities are limitless.The cost of one therapist session sure would buy a lot of art supplies!

 Since childhood, I watched my mom, the art teacher, worry about her job getting cut from the school budget. So, my unwavering support of the arts started young.

 I had a job performing in Portugal decades ago and was surprised how the government there paid the artists and kept the arts alive.

And guess how children who survived the horror in Sandy Hook are working through their healing process? Art is important...vital for expression. 

I overheard a student mention in an art class I took.... that she teaches art to kids, but it was decided by the staff that hired her that art is not that important to life skills, so she did it, unpaid!!!! Have you ever put together a class or workshop? And then taught it? That is a ton of hard work and preparation! What does that tell a workshop instructor to not be paid for all her hard work?

Humble and powerful, it's my hugest wish to see the arts honored as a vital part of our education and awareness....

Even if a living can't be made from our passion, there has to be room in a day to express it and allow it to evolve. Living our passion doesn't mean we have to make our primary income from it. Sometimes that is an uphill battle. But, still we can fit it in our day just to keep it alive.

So, even if your passion is not honored as important to some....there is something sacred in choosing to live yours....

Knowing What's Inside: DIY Cleaners

In this tight economy I've had to come up with creative ways to save money just like everyone else. One pet peeve I have is buying expensive cleaning products where I can't even read the names of the ingredients on the label. There are so many invisible things we are doing to ourselves by trusting the products we buy contain safe ingredients. So we're going on a little You Tube trip in this entry to learn how a few DIY cleaning artists save money AND take control of the ingredients in the cleaners they use. I have not tried any of these recipes yet, but I did buy the ingredients and plan on trying out each one.
This first video is for organic toothpaste. Organic toothpaste can get way pricey in the stores, so here is a healthy looking alternative:

How about dishwasher soap? I feel ooky about the ones I buy in the store when they warn that they're poisonous! We wash the utensils we use to cook and eat with in poison? What if it doesn't all come off in the rinse? Borax also has a warning that it shouldn't be ingested. So I'm so not sure of the safety of this, but I know people who use borax and live to talk about it. Plus if we read what's in the detergents we already use, they're pretty nasty too.:

Here's one for home made laundry soap and fabric softener:

One last alternative fabric softener recipe:

 There are tons of DIY cleaner recipes to get lost in on You Tube. I just chose these few to get started with. You can search liquid handsoaps, dish liquid, and on and on. If you try anything and love it, leave a comment and let me know or if you find another recipe that's better, let me know.

Much creative cleaning to you on your journey as a DIY Cleaning Artist!

Feeling the Heat

I took this photo a decade ago because this bank's digital thermometer had some glitch and I thought it would be a surreal photo to use in my artwork. But now the surreal-ness of this photo is not far from the reality of the heat currently going on out West. My heart goes out to those of you surviving the 120+ degree insanity! Rod Serling sure was ahead of his time!

Pleading the 5th Agreement

I was waiting at the checkout line at the grocery store the other day and did what most people waiting there do...I gazed at all the headlines in the ragmags. I took two of the ragmags and to keep the guy behind me entertained while waiting, I showed him how in one ragmag, Kim Kardashian had eloped in Paris with Kanye, while in another ragmag, Kim had discovered Kanye has a gay lover in Paris, so it's over between them. The man behind me responded with, "We just don't know what to believe anymore."

In grade school writing class we were taught "Just the facts, M'am." This is outdated anymore. It's all about sensational stories... and painting pictures in peoples' minds to keep them coming back for more. Whether in the media or in marketing.

Very often I will hear stories in the news and contact people who are in the area this story is covering. Often what is told in the media's version is not a true representation for all involved.

We truly have learned to take stories in with a grain of salt.  Don Miguel Ruiz' "Four Agreements", which came out 12 years ago, has helped me get through a lot of the hurdles going on these days:

• Don't take anything personally
• Don't make assumptions
• Be impeccable with your word
• Always do your best

 Ruiz' latest book, " The Fifth Agreement, A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery" falls right into place with the trend of media painting dramatic pictures to keep us watching and buying. That fifth agreement is:

"Be skeptical, but learn to listen."

I have not yet read this book and hear that it's a review of the first 4 agreements which didn't gel with some readers.  So be skeptical, but still listen....if you're a Ruiz fan....there's a new agreement in town.

My Top 3 Fave Commercials

 Commercials are usually my cue to run to another room to clean it, before the show returns. But when any of these three particular commercials come on, I usually drop whatever I'm doing to rush back to the TV, so I don't miss a word.

This girl is going to be an activist for some important cause some day...

 Whenever my kitty trips me in the kitchen because he wants more treats, I find myself saying, "We want more! We want more!"

This girl will grow up to be a sought after film maker, but only after collecting many oscars for her film performances....

Ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh!

I wish my confidence came out of me like this....