How quickly things change

So yesterday was basically the Worst Day Ever.  I'll spare you my rant, but the picture below is EXACTLY how I felt last night, no word of a lie.  I didn't feel all that much better when I got up this morning and I must say: strong emotion REALLY makes a page come together quickly.  HA! 

It's not fancy but it really says it all:

Things are mostly back to normal now, but there's a piece of pie in the fridge with my name on it, just in case.

Love Shelley!

F I E R C E

Once upon a time, people used to tell me I was "too independent."  It wasn't a compliment.

Of course, with marriage and children, day-to-day routines and commitments, my tendency to "pick my battles" and basically just the passage of time, my fiery independence has mellowed out somewhat.

Then this past week, I had a sudden flare-up of my old determination and spirit.  It actually made me feel a bit more sparkly than usual, which just reminded me that maybe I need to be "too independent" just a little more often.  I made this page before I could forget that swaggery feeling.  Wait, is 'swaggery' even a word?  Never mind, you know what I mean. 

 

It seemed like the perfect time bust out some graffiti-style writing.  I'm not so far gone that I'd dare to do this on an actual WALL, mind you - but I did daydream about it briefly.  Heh. 

Now I really can't wait to see what next week will bring!

Love Shelley!

So let's just keep this between us, okay?

So I know this is kind of personal, and she'd probably be PISSED if she knew I was sharing this, but my 8-year-old daughter has more than her share of irrational fears, and they traditionally bother her the most at bedtime.  I really try to be patient with her and reassure her that a lot of what she's scared of, could not possibly happen, or, if a particular fear IS semi-realistic, we work through the worst-case scenarios together and try to bring some reason to the situation.  But for a while there, things were getting kind of ridiculous:

"I'm scared that woodticks will get into the house and try to get me."
"I'm scared that a bear will come and break my window and get into my room."
"I'm scared that lightning will hit our house"  (this on a perfectly clear night)

One thing I'll say for her, she has an AMAZING imagination.  Anyway, one night after she finally went to sleep at 10:45pm, my own imagination got sparked up, probably because she was coming up with something new and different every single night for a while there.

I don't know, I think he's kind of cute!  I know you can't tell but his teeth and eyes are all shiny because I used a Glaze pen on them.  I'm especially proud of his nostrils and tail. 

Yeah, I know, now I'M being ridiculous.  SOMETIMES IT'S A COPING MECHANISM, OKAY? 

: )

Love Shelley!

Nope! Not done with these yet.

Here's an envelope I was working on last night.  There are many, many layers on here since I kept changing my mind on what I wanted it to look like - and it never seemed quite "done".  It's still not perfect but it's going in the mail today anyway.  I was going to show you a second picture - what my kitchen looks like since I farted away the evening working on this instead of washing the dishes... but I don't want to scare people away.  It's enough that you know that sometimes I get sucked in by the craft room tractor beam and my housework goes undone.  Pretty sure the Queen went back to England, so no worries about drop-in company, right?

By the way, this envelope is bigger than it probably looks - it's 5 3/4" x 9 1/2".  I'm just going to add the address and a stamp and off it goes to California! 

Until next time,

Love Shelley!

Sometimes I get really mad.

I seem to have gotten into a bit of a habit of using these messy circles and the rays... and I don't want to become too repetitive but I have a feeling I'm not quite done with them yet!  I used to try to do something completely different every time I started a new page, but lately I've realized that some things just have to be worked out of my system in their own good time.  I don't always feel like I'm in control of this process, but things go a lot more smoothly if I just let these things happen.  I'm probably not POSSESSED or anything... obsessed maybe?

As you've probably guessed, this page was my response to a big pack of lies.  I was feeling pretty fierce when I was working on this!  It's amazing how your thoughts get clarified when you put them down on paper like this.  The best part is that I realized that there are certain things I won't put up with, and last week when I was put to the test I rose to the challenge and even impressed myself.  Someone I know was up to no good, which is generally none of my business - except that he was conducting his 'no good' on my turf.  I'm generally pretty easygoing but this whole situation made me really uncomfortable and I called him on it.  He might still be up to no good - but at least I don't have to see it.  I win! 

Right?

Love Shelley!