Monthly Archives: November 2011

A Creative Thanksgiving

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I woke up this morning, made some stuffing and a turkey.  Then it cooked for three and a half hours.

Thanksgiving Turkey 2011

While it was cooking I got so caught up in the Macy’s Parade and working on wire wrapping that I forgot all about the potatoes, rolls and green beans.  Chris took the kids to the playground while I threw them all together.  While they were cooking, I made this:

The poem is from an amazing prayer book Morning and Evening by Johann Habermann that you can get for free here or here.

We ate a wonderful meal that I thought about taking pictures of only after it was gone.  Everyone laid down for a nap, and I worked on finishing the necklaces I started in the morning.  After a quick trip to Michael’s for an amazing easel, we all ate chex mix and popcorn while watching Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving.

After everyone went to bed, I decided to work on a few more necklaces.  Here’s everything I made today:

Necklaces I made on Thanksgiving Day

They will be in my Etsy shop soon, and available on Cyber Monday!

(I also started a painting tonight, but all I did was paint a canvas black, so I don’t have a picture of that.  I’ll post it when it’s done.  I do love my new easel!)

How to be great

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This is a really interesting post about a study of violinists.  The difference between the practice habits of the average and the great players makes me think about how to best organize my days between writing, jewelry, etc.,and further how to divide up the writing between working on my books and working on freelance articles. What does it say to you about how to organize your day?

To be elite: Put in the hours, devoting yourself to two sessions a day of complete and deliberate focus. When you’re done, be done. Go enjoy the rest of the day. (And as a side effect, feel more relaxed).

 

I’m Flying

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I made a huge change today. After
several months of struggle, I gave my two weeks notice at the job I’ve had for just over four years. I don’t know for sure what’s next. But I do know that I’ve been unhappy and unhealthy there for way too long.

Here’s what I do know:

  1. I am going to be writing more. More here, more on my novels, and hopefully a few things that can make me some money.
  2. I am going to be creating. My jewelry will be for sale soon. I’m working on a commissioned series of paintings for a friend.
  3. I am excited. I’m a little scared, because it’s not like me to not have a solid plan.
  4. I know I made the right decision.

    5. I’m reading Living in the Sacred Now by Kim Thomas. In the introduction she talks about the flying trapeze- how you have to let go of one bar at just the right time to grab the next. You can’t hold both bars at the same time. You must fly.

    I am flying.

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Photo from here