I'm Just a girl

Happy Birthday to my girl...

it's finally here...

usually time flies around here...

like the speed of light...

this week has felt long...

like molasses...

the anxiety of moving i guess...

but it's here...

the move starts tomorrow...

i am looking so forward to it...

yesterday i woke up at 3:00AM with a raging migraine...

it's not often i get them...

but this was a doozy...

today i am upright...

so that is good...

i am sure it's just the stress of the get ready and wait...

feeling better today...

i still have that migraine "hangover" but the nausea is gone for the most part...

today i am going back to my little office...

getting some work done...

then i will be moving all weekend...

glad it's a long one!

tomorrow is Brooke's 21st birthday...

we celebrated on Wednesday...

she is hitting the road tonight to celebrate with her girlfriends in Vegas baby...

{yikes}

i love this girl...

i can't even imagine my life without her in it...

as i think about her 21 years in my life my heart bursts...

she was my rough pregnancy...

barfed for  6 months straight...

non stop...

she was my hard labor...

she was my tiny baby...

2 lbs. lighter than meg...

6lbs. 15oz.

{i had huge babies}

wink!

she was my sick baby...

she had asthma...

we gave her  treatment after treatment for years...

she was in a horrid accident where a plate glass window fell onto her head before she was 2...

if the rest of us get a cold she gets pneumonia...

when it's too hot she gets heat stroke...

she has given me a scare or two...

let's just say...

but this girl of mine...

she is sunshine...

she lights up a room with her smile...

and her infectious laughter...

she is loud...

she is funny...

she is brave...

she is creative...

she is bold...

she is one strong girl...

i feel so grateful she is mine...

so amazed at her beauty...

her kindness to me...

her friendship...

her devotion...

she is going to do amazing things...

so happy birthday to my girl...

i am the lucky one...

kiss kiss

m.

in my spare time...

i hope you had a happy Monday...

my intentions were to blog this morning...

i lost the day...

litterally i looked down and it was past 5:00...

tonight i had the boys over and i made them dinner...

love my boys...

max is growing a beard...

hate it...

but he's loving it...

laughing...

my house is a wreak...

boxes everywhere...

moving is a pain...

but i am excited about the colorful condo...

yesterday i took the girls for a walk through...

it was fun to see it again...

think about where i want to put "my" stuff...

make a home there...

it's going to be great...

once i am in...

but for now i will have to just chill amongst the mess of moving...

today i went to work...

i am getting used to saying that...

it's been over two years since i went into an office...

i am liking it...

liking my little desk...

creating "my" space...

what is that about making something our own?

i think it's what we do...

i know for me it's the little things...

picture of my kids...

some special things from home...

the tiny typewriter i bought in North Carolina from Jenni...

love it...

love my office...

love going to work...

today we did a team photo shoot...

that means the website is getting closer...

today we proofed die cuts...

they are adorable...

so you can see where my Monday went...

it was filled with a lot of things i am loving right now...

work...

kids...

and moving...

i hope you had a great Monday...

at the top of this post is a little something from Alisa...

she is amazing...

{she designed our new Spark No.3 look}

love it...

love her...

she is going to be a teacher at Spark...

i love what she created and wanted to share it with you...

i love what it says...

and i say YES...

yes to it all...

yes to Mondays...

what are you saying yes to?

what are you loving these days?

tell me...

kiss kiss

m.

 

it's a Friday girls...

happy Friday!

i do think Friday is my favorite day...

it means the weekend is almost here...

but then i do love Saturdays and Sundays...

the weekend!

this weekend i am HOME...

preparing for my MOVE...

yes, i am leaving the cottage...

it has been good to me the sweet little cottage...

but it's time to move on...

get a bigger place...

so i am moving just down the street...

to a beautiful condo...

i like to call them the colorful condos...

i will have a 2 car garage...

seems crazy but that is going to change my life...

SPACE...

space for all of MY stuff...

the Girls' Loft stuff...

i can't wait...

and the colorful condo is new...

well 4 years old...

the cottage is like OLD...

sweet...but old...

there is nothing like new...

it's clean...

it's roomy...

so this weekend i am starting to pack...

do some more de-junking...

time to purge...

let go of some old stuff...

make a new home for myself...

the cottage was a great little transition home...

but it's time to move on...

i am looking forward to it...

putting down some roots...

stay a while...

like my crazy life right now...

new job...

new opportunities...

new...

it's all good...

blogging from my new office now...

a veiw from my desk...

loving the new look i have here...

excited to create a new studio at the colorful condo...

new look and feel...

sometimes we need a new outlook...

i know i do...

it helps me see things with new eyes...

see the good...

today is raining...

again...

for like the 50th day in a row...

remember me...

the sunshine girl...

today i am going to have to create my own sunshine...

cuz girl...

it's NOT outside!

LOL

i hope you have sunshine...

if not...

create it...

happy Friday!

kiss kiss

m.

home and back in the groove...sorta!

I got back from North Carolina on Sunday night late...

sometimes when i travel it's easy peasy...

and other times it's HELL...

for some reason coming home from inspired Sunday was hellish...

it started off great...

got to the airport early...

my first leg of the trip was no probs...

but from DC to SLC was another story...

we sat on the tarmac for two hours...

{drives me crazy}

no reason...

noting said...

just sat...

and sat...

finally we took off...

i was about to scream!

luckily the middle seat wasn't taken so i could spread out a little...

i slept for an hour or so...

watched a movie...

as we approached Salt Lake the weather got bad...

the wind was tossing the plane...

we couldn't land...

so we circled...

and circled...

it was bumpy...

to say the least...

then the pilot went for it...

probably the scariest landing ever...

i grabbed the poor kid next to me...

but we landed...

whew...

so so glad i don't have to get on another plane for a few weeks...

bout did me in...

i could have flown to Europe in the time it took me to get home from DC...

that would have been nice...

but i am home...

for about 3 weeks solid!

looking forward to it...

went to my office yesterday...

did two press checks...

exciting...

worked with our web designer...

we are so close to launching...

it looks amazing...

loving the branding of the new company...

amazed that our warehouse is filled with paper...

actual printed paper!

crazy...

it's been a whirlwind...

like the pilot...

we went for it...

didn't circle...

just headed into the whirlwind and went for it...

i can't wait to share more...

being gone last week filled me creatively...

inspired was amazing...

Bill and Donna did a fabulous job...

i loved spending the week with Christy...

she is my true...

loved teaching...

loved even more taking classes...

pushing myself creatively...

letting go of some control...
learning to make something beautiful out of trash...

loved spending time with dear friends...
loved laughing together...

being silly...

loved making art late into the night...

loved funkin & junkin in art journals...

again, learning to let go of perfection and embraceing the art inside of me...

it was just what i needed...

but it's good to be home...

blogging from the cottage...

in my own bed...

i must unpack that suitcase...

filled with art supplies...

my art i created...

i was inspired...

thank you Donna for having me...

so grateful i was there for the final inspired...

looking forward to what Donna has up her sleeve...

it will be amazing...

here's to a great week...

this post was intended for yesterday...

my Monday post...

it took me a day to get back in the groove...

Happy Tuesday...

kiss kiss

m

 

inspired...

up early getting ready for another new day at inspired...

yesterday was amazing...

here are a few highlights from the day!

our first class was with the whimsical mixed media artist Suzi Blu...

what a delightful soul...

i painted...

let me tell you...

this class pushed me creativly...

i am NOT a painter...

but learning to shade with prisma color pencils first then paint was key for me...

i was ok with it not being perfect and really just allowed myself to enjoy the process...

the second class was with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, encaustic artist...

i have worked with wax before at Ranger U so i was familiar with it a bit...

i really enjoyed the class...

kept my project pretty simple...

#5 has been my favorite number for ever...

it now has special meaning to me...

love this great #5 i got from Jenni Bowlin's booth...

part of the fun besides getting to teach, and take classes is seeing friends like Jenni & Jared...

Paolo is here taking photos again...

Love this man...

Jenny Doh is going to do a keynote Saturday night that i so look forward to...

she is an amazing friend...

LOVE this woman...

Christy and i are having a ball...

lot's of late night talks...

lots of laughing...

i better get my groove on...

2 more great classes today!

Donna does an amazing job...

this is a great week...

Happy Friday the 13th!

i think it's lucky!

kiss kiss

m

i always say...

sharing is for caring...

i have always been one to want to share fun ideas, stories, chocolate, and the people that i love, with the people that i love...

does that make sense?

today i slept in again...

well, until 7:32 to be exact...

i wish i knew how to sleep in when i have the luxury of doing it...

ha ha...whatev...

anyway...

today i was up earlier than Christy...

so as she slept i cought up on e-mail...

and in there was an e-mail from my sweet, dear, funny, friend Jeanne...

let me tell you one thing about this girl...

or two...

Jeanne is one of the funniest girls i know...

her laugh is contagious...

she breaks out into song and dance at the drop of a hat...

i love that...

we sing together...

{it's not good}

NO...it's great...

we laugh until we cry...

or i pee my pants...

no really...

it's happened...

not only is Jeanne one of the funniest girls i know...

she is an artist...

she makes the most beautiful art...

beautiufl clothing... 

beautiful jewelry...

handbags...

you know, the good stuff...

all of it...

so, because i love all of you...

i want to share her with you too...

like i have said one million times...

sharing is for caring...

take a peek...

enjoy...

kiss kiss

m

 

 

hello from North Carolina & Donna Downey's Inspired...

blogging from my snugly bed here in North Carolina...

i arrived here last night...

the minute i walked out of the airport i could feel the warmth...

i love it...

my skin loves it!

i hope you all had a great Mother's Day...

i sure did...

i loved having all my kids with me...

Loved being with my Mother...

we had a big BBQ planned but we got rained out...

so we moved the dinner to my Mothers...

she was ready for us...

it was a lovely day...

today i am in North Carolina for Inspired...

today i will be teaching at Donna's Studio

i can't wait to see it in person...

the pictures look amazing...

i can't wait to do a little shopping...

{because i need more stuff right?}

i love this event...

Donna and Bill do an amazing job...

Christy arrives today!

i can't wait!

just the two of us...

we are going to have a ball...

it's going to be a great week...

it's fun to be at an event like this...

even better with one of my trues...

we both are teaching...

and we are lucky enough to get to take the classes too...

i will take lots of photos and share them with you!

happy Tuesday!

kiss kiss

m

PS...

April did an amazing POST over on the SPARK site! Check it out!

 

 

 

on being a Mother...

 {created by Rhonna Farrer}

When i was a little girl all i ever wanted to be when i grew up was a Mother...

i didn't want to be a school teacher...

or a nurse...

or even a firefighter...

i wanted to be a Mother...

when i was pregnant with Meg 25 years ago i could barely contain myself...

i am one of those weird women who LOVE being pregnant...

i love the changes my body is able to make to house a child...

i loved the way i looked pregnant...

i loved knowing there was a baby growing inside of me...

i loved knowing i was going to be a Mother...

i felt this way in every pregnancy...

{yes even with Brooke, where i barfed for 6 months straight}

maybe that's why i had 4 kids...

and would have had more...

maybe that's why my last 3 i had in 3 years...

{did i love it that much?}

laughing...

i look at my children now, grown...

and i feel so grateful that i have been blessed now for 24 years to be a mother...

my heart almost bursts thinking about the magnitude of this blessing...

as a women the ability to create was with me from the start...

it was something that was instilled in me first by God...

and then by my own Mother...

my Mother is an amazing woman...

she is smart...

she is soft spoken...

she is very proper...

she works hard...

she keeps a beautiful home...

she is service oriented...

she loves the Lord...

she has strong opinions...

she has a million friends...

she entertains beautifully...

she loves beautiful things...

she is 83 and still a blond...

she loves to laugh...

she loves her children...

{all 6 of them}

she loves her grandchildren...

{all 22 of them}

she loves her great grandchildren...

{all 4 and 1 on the way}

she never forgets a birthday...

she is who i look up to...

go to when i need help...

she is my role model in so many ways...

she is my Mother...

on this Mother's Day i feel grateful...

to have such an amazing Mother...

and to be a Mother...

to think of the possibility of one day my daughters will become Mothers...

i usually hate Mother's Day...

{i think everyday should be Mothers' Day}

wink!

but today i choose to look at in in a different way...

and love it...

knowing i will spend the day with my children who made me a Mother...

spend the day with my own Mother...

Happy Mother's Day to all of angel women in my life who are examples of Motherhood...

to my Grandmothers who where so important to me, and i miss dearly...

{who i am named after, Marjorie & Helen}

to my sisters...

to my girlfriends...

you have all helped me be the Mother that i am...

and want to be...

kiss kiss

m

 

 

coming up for air...

this week i am trying to shove as much into it as i can...

next week i will be in North Carolina at Donna Downey's Inspired event...

so i am trying to get ahead...

i am going into my new office everyday...

really loving the feel of it...

getting in a groove there...

paper is being printed...

it's beautiful...

there is something really exciting about pallets of paper being delivered...

i love the smell of new paper...

working on Spark No. 3...

did you see the line-up of teachers?

some really fun, unique classes and teachers this year...

i hope you are coming...

last night i came up from all of the busy-ness of life and took a few hours to celebrate Lizzy's birthday...

i was so glad i did...

i was worried i had too much to do and wasn't going to be able to make it...

but now and again, i need to come up for air...

and what a breath of fresh air it was...
{Rhonna and i in our matching sweater surprise!}

i loved seeing my Spark sisters... {Spark No.1 sisters}

mindy sang and she was adorable and amazing...

{she's teaching a mini workshop at Spark No.3!!}

as always...

the food was delish...

the decor delightful...

italian sodas, birthday cake in jars, goodies hand sewn into ruffled bags & beautiful fresh flowers...

there was lots of catching up...
{the original Spark sisters}

photos...

laughing...

i loved it...

like i said...

a breath of fresh air...

it does my soul good...

today i will fill every hour with my busy-ness...

refreshed...

happy Thursday...

happy Cinco De' Mayo!

today i will eat Mexican food for every meal in celebration...

{my all time FAVE}

Ole'

kiss kiss

m

 

fortune cookies...

i love fortune cookies...

i collect all of my fortunes...

i have tons of them in a glass vase...

when i am cleaning out a purse i always find a fortune or two in there...

i believe that it is bad luck to throw them away...

if they get lost on their own, that is a different story...

i think it makes that fortune even luckier...

tonight this was my fortune...

"your dearest wishes will come true."

i am counting on it...

it has me thinking...

when i am alone i have conversations with myself...

no i don't talk out loud to myself...

that sounds CRAZY...

wink...

but i listen to my thoughts...

tonight after dinner, coming home to the cottage alone i am forced to have conversations with myself...

listen...

after a nice hot bubble bath i jumped into my jammies and snuggled into bed with my laptop...

caught up on a few of my favorite blogs...

i jumped on to April's blog...

what she had written has me talking to myself...

listening...

wondering...

why are we not kinder to ourselves?

why do we doubt?

is it innate?

some of the things i am hearing myself say are...

be kinder...

take care...

be gentle...

it's going to be ok...

you are ok...

why would i say these things to a dear friend and not to myself?

why do you?

as women we need to be kinder to ourselves...

and then we will have the confidence to be kinder to others...

i have lots of wishes...

this is one of my "dearest" wishes...

that as women we are kind to ourselves...

kind to others...

yesterday history was made...

and today as i read some of the things that were said i had  mixed emotions...

happy...mad...proud...sad...

i was happy that Osama had been taken down...

i do believe he was an evil man...

then i was mad at some of the things i read other people had said...

I was proud of our military who fight for our country...

and finally i was sad...

sad remembering 9-11...

sad for all of the lives lost...

families that would never be the same...

the death of Osama Bin Laden won't bring them back...

it won't change the past...

again...

one of my deepest wishes would be that there was more kindness in our world...

it starts at home...

it starts with ourselves...

we can not love one another if we don't love ourselves...

i am going to try harder...

with myself...

and with others...

i hope you had a happy Monday...

kiss kiss

m