Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Building My Boards!
I have to say I just love Pinterest. It really works for me because everything is so visual. have been busy building my boards, and currently there are over 20 boards for all things supportive...art therapy, career counseling, painless parenting, social skills, grief and loss, etc. Please check it out! And feel free to leave feedback on other boards you'd like to see!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Flying Owl and a bit of NaNoJouMo!
The month of November is National NonStop Journaling Month. It's a spinoff that was inspired by National NonStop Writing Month, where writers attempt to write 1,667 words everyday in attempt to finish a 50,000 word novel in an entire month. If you ask me, NaNoJouMo is MUCH less intimidating than NaNoWriMo, because your journal can be ANYTHING you want it to be. It can be an: art journal, a dream journal, a goal journal, a gratitude journal, a one-sentence journal...the list goes on. You don't even need to do a complete journal entry every-day (except for maybe the one-sentence journal). For instance, if you choose to do an art journal, the idea is to get something on the paper EVERYDAY, even if it is just one single line, doodle, background, etc. each day, or if you are doing some kind of writing journal to get some words on the paper everyday even if it is only one sentence, stanza of a poem, quote, recipe, verse of a song, etc.
Journaling is a well-known healing art, and it has so many benefits including stress reduction, self-awareness, escape, enhancing creativity, healing, personal growth, or archiving life. Additionally, it's a great activity for any age child or adult.
The project I have chosen to undertake this month is art journaling, and for inspiration, I am following daily inspirational prompts provided by Dawn Sokol at D'Blogala. Today's prompt was Take Flight, which could be interpreted literally or loosely. As I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I was imagining doing something with the word metamorphosis. When I think about taking flight I think about a new beginning, or change, and metamorphosis is certainly a change. I had the magazines, adhesive, glaze and micron pens, and the spray bottle (one of my favorite art tools) ready to go. As soon as my daughter went to bed, I was going to get my art on! YAHOO!
Well...as we all know too well, life does not always go as we plan. As I was giving my "under-the-weather" daughter a nebulizer treatment this evening, she asked if I would make her a get well picture after she went to bed, and given her strong spirit, she had some VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: she wanted rainbows, peace signs, and a cartoon owl. Because she was feeling so horrible today with her asthmatic croup, I couldn't say no. The following is my best attempt at meeting those requirements, and I just know it will make her day tomorrow morning when she sees it.
I must admit I don't know much about owls, except that they perch in trees and are nocturnal animals. I honestly didn't know whether or not they flew, so I had to Google that. As it turns out, OWLS DO TAKE FLIGHT.
I just LOVE IT when life comes full circle!
Journaling is a well-known healing art, and it has so many benefits including stress reduction, self-awareness, escape, enhancing creativity, healing, personal growth, or archiving life. Additionally, it's a great activity for any age child or adult.
The project I have chosen to undertake this month is art journaling, and for inspiration, I am following daily inspirational prompts provided by Dawn Sokol at D'Blogala. Today's prompt was Take Flight, which could be interpreted literally or loosely. As I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I was imagining doing something with the word metamorphosis. When I think about taking flight I think about a new beginning, or change, and metamorphosis is certainly a change. I had the magazines, adhesive, glaze and micron pens, and the spray bottle (one of my favorite art tools) ready to go. As soon as my daughter went to bed, I was going to get my art on! YAHOO!
Well...as we all know too well, life does not always go as we plan. As I was giving my "under-the-weather" daughter a nebulizer treatment this evening, she asked if I would make her a get well picture after she went to bed, and given her strong spirit, she had some VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: she wanted rainbows, peace signs, and a cartoon owl. Because she was feeling so horrible today with her asthmatic croup, I couldn't say no. The following is my best attempt at meeting those requirements, and I just know it will make her day tomorrow morning when she sees it.
I must admit I don't know much about owls, except that they perch in trees and are nocturnal animals. I honestly didn't know whether or not they flew, so I had to Google that. As it turns out, OWLS DO TAKE FLIGHT.
I just LOVE IT when life comes full circle!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fancy Feathers, an Empty Storefront, and a Moment of Parental Clarity!
Hair feathers are all the rage right now. My daughter who is five had been begging me for one for the last couple of weeks, especially since her little girlfriends have started to get them. Thank goodness that started AFTER school picture day. Anyway, last Friday when she had the day off of school for Teacher Records Day, I decided to let her get one. She was soooooooooo excited! It's all she talked about for two days. "Mom, mom, when am I going to get my feather, again?", she'd say...like every 10 minutes.
I did my due diligence as a parent and checked the website of a local salon to make sure they had them, how much they cost, how long they stayed in, and if we needed an appointment. Sure enough, they had them, they were ten dollars, they stayed in "a long time" and they took walk-ins. Yeah!
So off we drove to the salon and when we pulled up we were faced with an empty storefront. Yep, out of business. No sign, no furniture inside....just a completely empty building. I thought....hmmm...sure would be nice if they would update their website. Nonetheless, I said to my daughter, "I'm sorry honey...the store is closed...I mean PERMANENTLY closed."
At that moment, I was instantly I'm bombarded with "BAAAWAAAAHHHHHHH! NOW I"M NEVER EVER GOING TO GET A FEATHER!"
I knew how devastated she was. I felt so badly, but at the same time it wasn't my fault...I did my research...or so I thought. So I started to console her and say, "It's okay, I'll stop by a couple of the other salons along the main road in town and see if anyone else does them and will take a walk-in." And off I drove.
And then it hit me...A MOMENT OF PARENTAL CLARITY! I am NOT going to run all over town looking for another place when that was not in the agenda for the day. I had slated about 30 minutes for the feather endeavor...not God knows how long and a 1/2 a tank of gas. So I said to my daughter very directly: "I'm sorry, G. I've decided that this is an important lesson is delaying your gratification (yes, I use these big terms with her). It's important for you to learn that life doesn't always go as we plan, and this is one of those instances. We didn't plan for the salon to be out of business, but it is and now we have to deal with it. But we don't have to do it right this second. I will go home and do some more online research (and make a phone call to make sure the place is actually open), and you can get your feather tomorrow."
She cried for a few minutes, but recovered, knowing full well I would hold true to my word.
She got her feather on Saturday...the very next day...just like I promised...from the same salon chain...only five miles further down the road!
It's hard as a parent to see our children be upset, and it's worse to suffer through their crying, however long it lasts. But this was an important lesson for her. Thank you, little white angel on my shoulder, for whispering in my ear that day!
I did my due diligence as a parent and checked the website of a local salon to make sure they had them, how much they cost, how long they stayed in, and if we needed an appointment. Sure enough, they had them, they were ten dollars, they stayed in "a long time" and they took walk-ins. Yeah!
So off we drove to the salon and when we pulled up we were faced with an empty storefront. Yep, out of business. No sign, no furniture inside....just a completely empty building. I thought....hmmm...sure would be nice if they would update their website. Nonetheless, I said to my daughter, "I'm sorry honey...the store is closed...I mean PERMANENTLY closed."
At that moment, I was instantly I'm bombarded with "BAAAWAAAAHHHHHHH! NOW I"M NEVER EVER GOING TO GET A FEATHER!"
I knew how devastated she was. I felt so badly, but at the same time it wasn't my fault...I did my research...or so I thought. So I started to console her and say, "It's okay, I'll stop by a couple of the other salons along the main road in town and see if anyone else does them and will take a walk-in." And off I drove.
And then it hit me...A MOMENT OF PARENTAL CLARITY! I am NOT going to run all over town looking for another place when that was not in the agenda for the day. I had slated about 30 minutes for the feather endeavor...not God knows how long and a 1/2 a tank of gas. So I said to my daughter very directly: "I'm sorry, G. I've decided that this is an important lesson is delaying your gratification (yes, I use these big terms with her). It's important for you to learn that life doesn't always go as we plan, and this is one of those instances. We didn't plan for the salon to be out of business, but it is and now we have to deal with it. But we don't have to do it right this second. I will go home and do some more online research (and make a phone call to make sure the place is actually open), and you can get your feather tomorrow."
She cried for a few minutes, but recovered, knowing full well I would hold true to my word.
She got her feather on Saturday...the very next day...just like I promised...from the same salon chain...only five miles further down the road!
It's hard as a parent to see our children be upset, and it's worse to suffer through their crying, however long it lasts. But this was an important lesson for her. Thank you, little white angel on my shoulder, for whispering in my ear that day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)