Meme from Megg

Megg just tagged me for a meme. It's especially fun to participate because Megg is one of the very first friends I made out here in Blogland. She is a real treasure - a generous, warm and gifted person who is a treat to know.

The 8 Random Things Meme

• Players post these rules before we give you the facts.
• Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.
• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged.

1. My Venus is in Scorpio which means I have very intense feelings, form deep bonds and have a jealous streak a mile wide. (Who me?)
2. My fear of deep water is so intense that watching water scenes in action movies can elevate my heart rate and increase my breathing rate.
3. When we went on our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic and I saw passionfruit for the first time, I thought it looked, well, revolting, all goopy and lumpy. (If you haven't seen it, this is what it looks like) But then I tasted it and had it at every meal and still miss it! Delish!
4. I have a list of movies that I won't watch because they're too nightmare-inducing.
5. When I was in university I scheduled all my classes between 11:00 and 3:00. That's still a good schedule for me.
6. When I was a little girl, I loved to bake. My mom said that I could bake anything I wanted as long as I left the kitchen exactly as it was when I began. I felt so privileged to be able to use the kitchen and took the clean up seriously.
7. I'm a straight arrow. When we were little we had a rule - if you find a present, you don't get it. I accidently found a game that I was going to get for my birthday. I didn't say anything but when I opened the present on my birthday I burst into tears. My conscience couldn't bear it.
8. I once tried to break up a fight on a streetcar. I didn't even think about it. I just walked towards the guys and tried to snap them out of it.

I tag: Suzie, Shannon, Jenn, Carmen, Vedrana, Star, Melba, Sunny

And to all you wonderful ladies, participate if it makes you smile or catch the wave next time if that feels better. Hugs to you all!

Polymer Clay and Gold Leafing

The possibilities are endless with polymer clay. You can do almost anything to it. Now I have discovered adding gold leaf to it and wow makes this stuff really pop. You do it before you bake it. And the out come is so pretty.

Vacation Photos Continued!

Here's some more..I got our friends photos and wanted to share a few more..

Captain Connor


Stef on the coool Molecule tube..this thing had everyone looking at us!



The view when we were floating in the Lake..Parker lost his issues with the boat quick...



The amazing awesome hubby of mine skiing...





A common scene..


the Utubers..they love this tube!

and last yours truly in the spot I sat when I was taking photos..


Definitely a fun vacation!!!

Musical Inspiration

This song made my spirit soar. I hope it does the same for yours.

The Success Principles ~ Principle 21

Principle 20 of Jack Canfield's Success Principles is keep score for success. This is a short chapter with a very succinct message: keep score of anything you want more of. Jack uses various examples and sources to demonstrate how motivation and achievement are inspired by score-keeping. He recommends that you keep score in all areas of your life from finances to relationships to work. Keeping score motivates you towards your goals. Simple.

But I want to ruffle it up just a bit. I know the power of measurement. Setting my sights on a certain markers of achievement has often provided me with focus, determination and success. For example, I made major progress on paying down my student loan by setting targets of the next amount I wanted to get under. But there can also be a dark side side to keeping score that some of you may recognize. It's when drive turns into obsession, when you keep your eye on the numbers so blindly that you lose touch with how you're feeling, who you're being and why you're doing this in the first place.

And I wonder whether it is the keeping score that's significant or whether it's actually the acknowledgement of our achievements. We so often breeze through what we've done without stopping to notice how much we've accomplished. In fact, often noticing the great work we've done is considered egotistical and inappropriate. Somehow quantifying and scoring makes it okay to remark on how well you've done. Whereas it might feel uncomfortable to say, "Yes! This week I was totally rocked it at work," it is great to say, "This week I handled 10% more client requests than last week!"

Keep score as long as it supports you. Find ways to acknowledge all the wonderful steps that you're taking, all the growth that is taking place. And take time to celebrate all that you are and all that you've done. Take time to say, "This week I totally rocked!" Where are you rocking it out this week?

More black and white photos

I am totally loving my new camera. My grandson Gavyn is getting a lot of pics made of him. Playing with the b&w settings are so much fun.

Vacation Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! Well we're back and wow what a great time we had! So much darn fun and even more fun when you hang out with your best friends that are just like you! We really have the best time together!!! The weather wasn't great 2 days..played lots of Phase 10 and snacked. Headed out later those days and we were so glad to get out and see some sun!

Okay..the amazing boat we spent our time on..everyone stops always to compliment. Every gas station we stopped at people asked if they could take their picture in front of it!LOL



the whole gang..they suprised us with shirts that we wore out for our friend Steve's birthday. The front said Aquapalooza 2007 and the back said.."anchored out and getting loud all summer long"



Captain Parker


Haley, Connor and Stef on the triple tube...


my best friend Jill and I ready to take on the U-Tube..it was crazy!



Sweet Haley using my floatie that I LOVED!


The amazing amazing hubby of mine that not only water skied after oh...16+ years but then slalomed skiied too! Get this though..that man of mine broke several ribs right before this picture was taken! He's now in some serious pain but who in their mind breaks their ribs and then skiis!! He didn't tell me until 2 days later the goof!


Last proof I was on the vacation as I took almost all the pics..Parker took this of me!


A very very fun vacation! Can't wait to do it again!!

Julia

Expressive Arts Therapy ~ Good News!

I have been flirting with Expressive Arts Therapy for a few years now. In February I took a workshop that confirmed for me that it was an area I would love to explore. I felt completely at home in this space, painting and making music and writing and sharing.

A few months ago I applied for the foundational year program. Just this week I was starting to think that it might have been a mistake, that perhaps I already had more than enough on my plate. And then I got the call - I'm in! And I beamed and beamed and beamed. It took me a few hours before I realized that that meant next year I'll be painting, writing, dancing, etc. as a regular thing! When I got that I think I literally started floating.

I'll look forward to sharing my explorations with you!

The Success Principles ~ Principle 20

Principle #20 of Jack Canfield's Success Principles is "commit to constant and never-ending improvement." He points out that these days with the pace of change, constant improvement is in fact a bare essential never mind a success strategy. Unfortunately a part of that is that we often feel like we're running to catch up instead of feeling great where we are right now.

So remember, you are fantastic today. You are unique and full of skills, talents and personality traits that are totally awesome right now at the moment you are reading this. If you need to read that again, please do. In fact, remind yourself of one great thing about you right now before we talk about improving, okay? And if you feel like it, share it in the comments. I am one person that loves to hear people share what is great about themselves! And here's one about me - at this very minute I know that I am a lively human being that loves to engage! You're turn.

Now that we know we've got at least one thing going for us right here, let's look at what Jack recommends we do for our improvement. One thing is to make your improvements in baby steps. Trying to do too much too fast can be overwhelming. Instead, small and achievable steps reinforce that you can do this. (I know I've mentioned her before but FlyLady has really worked the baby steps strategy into a system if you're dealing with clutter in your life.)

The other thing is to know what it is that you want to improve. If I make a million baby steps at something that isn't in the direction that I want to go, um, I don't end up closer to my goal. This can be a primo procrastination tool, especially if the baby steps are towards something you like and do really want to do. For example, imagine that I love wine (which I do). One day I think, yes, I really do love wine. In fact, I want to become a wine expert. I start taking baby steps - reading, researching, scouring the vintage section. My knowledge is nearing sommelier status. Then you ask me, "Jamie, what's your dream?" And suddenly I remember and say, "Well, I really want to run workshops that inspire joy and transformation." "Oh, do you have one scheduled?" "Um, no. But I'll tell you, the 2002 Verdicchio is lovely." See?

It's not that learning about wine isn't valuable or interesting or joyful for me. But its study allowed me to use the noble face of learning and improving to disguise the fact that though I was taking awesome steps I wasn't taking any in the direction of my real dreams. This can also happen when you take thousands of baby steps that make you an expert at preparing for what you really want (lists, schedules, plans, strategies) as opposed to becoming an expert at actually doing it. (Um, but I wouldn't know anything about that *whistling*)

So, baby steps and knowing what you want to improve are key. Two life areas that I am currently committed to improving are being a homeowner and being a traveller. These are both relatively new for me, they often intimidate me, and they are deeply important to me. I am committing to becoming more skilled in these arenas. Expect more posts about that soon!

What do you want to take baby steps towards?

Photographing in Black & White

Well I'm excited. I got a new camera for my anniversary. It is a canon rebel xti

This thing will do tricks that I am still learning of course. I did discover that I can take b&w photos and of course my grandson's are my models. What I really like to do is snap when they aren't watching or poseing. I think those sometimes make the best pics.

The Success Principles ~ Principle 19

Jack Canfield's 19th Success Principle is: Use Feedback to your Advantage. He explains that when we take action we receive feedback, both positive and negative, and that paying attention to that information is crucial to our success because it informs us whether we are on or off course in our journey towards our goals.

It is useful to take a step and listen. Adjust your next step if required. Repeat. Listen to the feedback from others, from the universe and also from your self (your gut, your intuition, your emotional response). In the world of feedback, Jack recommends you give your gut primary billing. If everyone says something is a good idea and your gut is hitting the warning bells, trust your gut.

So feedback provides us with powerful information to keep us on track. Why do we so often not want to hear it? We're afraid, like somehow being off course says something horrible about us and that other people see our failing. Imagine - we were off course and other people knew it. Oh, the humiliation! Unfortunately, if we're off course and everyone sees it but we're not open to hearing about it, we stay off course and everyone still knows it - everyone, that is, except us. Better to brave the feedback and get on course. Perhaps instead of being humiliated, we will feel connected to others and to our journey and we will send out the message that we are open to help and guidance along the way and we will once again be moving towards our goal instead of moving in the wrong direction with blinders on.

This success principle highlights not just the importance of feedback but our being willing to ask for it and receive the information with gratitude. The process is quite simple: ask for feedback, make it safe for the other person to give it to you and be thankful when you receive it.

This week I am going to take this principle to heart as I continue to develop my brand concept for my coaching practice. I've made leaps and bounds in identifying the core values and purpose of my work and now am moving onto how to powerfully share that with others in a way that speaks to people who would love to partake of what I have to offer. I hope that in the coming weeks I'll be able to ask for your feedback and hear your responses.

What would you like feedback on? Will you ask for it?

What feedback have you been receiving lately? How will that guide your journey?

I decided to do a book review

I collect books like some people collect stamps, so what better topic to talk about. Of course the books I have are knit, crochet and crafty books.

I just bought the book "crochet inspiration" by Sasha Kagan. What a great book, lot's of pictures and lots of wonderful techniques. Beautiful motif patterns, flowers to crochet and beautiful grannies, from basic to lace and floral. A great book to add to your crochet library.

The knit book Alterknits by Leigh Radford has so many pretty projects in it. A crepe paper crown, a necklace knitted with silver wire and beads even paper lanterns.

Plus some beautiful sweaters and recycling old sweaters in to totes or handbags. It even comes with a great little creativity notebook. I love this book. It even shows you how to knit a screen door. How fun is that?

Four - Elizabeth Shepherd Trio

This is my first attempt at a video post. Not only is the dance in this video something special, the editing is definitely dancing along. The way certain moments synch with the music blew me away. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Photographing Flowers

I love playing with photography. And as you can tell I love photographing flowers. The posibilities are endless with flowers. The colors are so vibrant. And when editing which I do in psp you can do so many pretty things with them. (like in the yellow picture above) That is a picture I took of a day lily that I played with and changed in psp.

They are great in crafty items. Take your pictures and print them out on fabric and make a pocketbook or iron them on a shirt. What fun just to take your camera out on a wild flower hunt and just start snapping.

DIY Entertainment Club

Recently Shannon and I were talking about how rarely we buy books, movies and CDs. (Truth be told I buy a lot of books but not fiction for quite a while) It suddenly occurred to me that you could create your own version of a "book of the month club." And that's exactly what we've decided to do. My plan is to put aside a bit of money so that at the end of the month I can buy myself either a book, a CD or a DVD. It's like a DIY Entertainment Club.

I started this month. A bit of extra money let me start off with a bang. I have to admit I did go with a business book, Growing a Business by Paul Hawken. You know, once I realized that building a business was a creative project, I've been obsessed! I also bought Kim Delmhorst's Songs for a Hurricane because when I heard the song Waiting Under the Waves on Pandora, I couldn't get it out of my head.

By the way, I just have to express how disappointed I am that services like Pandora are no longer available to Canadian listeners. More and more American internet content is being restricted to viewing/listening within the US. One perhaps unconsidered response to that is that more of us will turn to the rest of the world to see what's happening. There's lots of compelling work being created, like this fantastic CD that rounds out my DIY list by Sara Tavares, a Portuguese artist that a fellow Nia teacher recommended. It's a real treat.

Why not create your own DIY Entertainment Club? What would your first indulgence be?

A Saturday Night in Toronto (aka why I love my city)

This Saturday Justin & I took a much-needed break and headed down to Harbourfront to explore the Beats, Breaks & Culture festival of electronic music. One of my favourite things about this city is that you can always head out and experience something new and often for free.

We were really lucky and got an awesome seat in a restaurant to the side of the stage. We spent the night drinking sangria, listening to music and enjoying the breeze coming in off Lake Ontario. It was a treat. One cool thing about this event was how many different people were sitting and listening to the music, including families. This one woman had a handful with her 4 boys. Justin and I were completely taken with this one kid who was absorbed with reading this week's NOW.

And in this night of electronic music, breakdance competitions and tented dance floors...

Other amazing things could be seen, like street Scrabble.

And art exhibits, including a series of farm portraits. We fit right in, hehe.

The Success Principles ~ 18

This week's success principle, like last week's asking, is simple but not always easy. With principle 18 Jack Canfield tells us to "Reject rejection." He points out that rejection is simply a construct, that we haven't lost a thing when we're rejected. We're simply in the same position we were in before. He also lets us know through multiple examples that rejection is without fail a part of the road to success and perserverence is a must-have quality. There will be lots of no's along the way. How are you going to sustain your spirit until you get to yes?

For me, a big part of that is holding the belief that the right thing will come, that a rejection is an indication that this isn't the right thing for me at this time. I trust the Universe and take the Jack Canfield advice here and simply think, "Next." There's no denying though that sometimes rejection can hurt your heart. If you got a little knocked down and need some revitalization before the next thing, figure out your best self-care prep for that process. Go out with a friend who believes in you. Acknowledge your accomplishments and talents in your journal. Be loving to your wonderful self. Take a moment to remember all that's great about you, how important this dream is and then get back onto the adventure.

I think that it's important to add a step to saying "next" and moving on. What can you learn from the rejection? Sometimes the message is that this was truly not a good fit, this was the wrong guy, wrong job, wrong house, wrong opportunity. Why? How can you save yourself time and effort by eliminating poor fits from your to-do list? Other times you're saying to yourself, "I really wanted that job. I just know it's the perfect fit for me." This often means there's a disconnect with what's going on in your heart and in your life. Maybe it's the right fit in your heart, but something didn't match up. What needs to happen in order to create a good fit? More training? More confidence? Different environment? If you want it, figure out what you need and make it happen.

Once I auditioned for a show that I really wanted to be a part of. The director was working with the writings of a great Canadian author, using a movement-based approach and an aesthetic that was rich in symbol and poetry. I just knew it was a good fit for me. I didn't get the part. I did get the courage to call the director and ask for feedback on my audition so that I would be able to present myself more convincingly for another such role. It was so hard to make that call, but I knew this was the kind of work I wanted to do as an actor. So I did it. It turns out that the role I was right for (and there was a role I was right for) was already committed to an actor this director worked with consistently. He also affirmed certainly qualities I brought and what he had seen in me. It was a gift.

Are you ready to reject rejection? What will support you in getting through the sea of No to discover the land of Yes?

Free Form Fabric part 2

I wanted to continue my talk on free form fabric. I had saw an example of this done on the show "B Orginial" and decided to play for myself and got hooked. There is no wrong way to do this and the possibilities are endless. All you need is a good base fabric and lots of fibers. From roving, to all the beautiful threads and yarns available. No sewing experience required because you sew all over the place. I love using sulky threads because they are durable as well as great colors and some really cool metalic threads as well. Now when using metallic threads you want to use a metallic needle.

Making free form fabrics

Well the great thing about free form fabric is even if you don't know how to crochet or knit you can still use those beautiful yarns. So easy and no 2 are alike. This is a clutch that I did with a wide variety of yarns and fibers.