these are things my boys make me watch on the computer

it's actually worth a chuckle :) who knew the creators at lego were so humorous?

first mini book of 2009

here's the first mini book of 2009..... It's super funky ( like me).... and I just wanted a little book to remind me to play and have fun while I create...... That's what it is all about - for me (having fun). I'm not huge on the storytelling .... which I probably should be... but for now I play - learn - create.

here are a few pages...... notice a button fairy...






OOOOHH - I found a book I am getting ready to alter! soo excited! (it's from the 70's- not too vintage but it's from the decade I was bor,n so that's kinda cool) The book is about one caterpillar's story of hope - good exercise for me to practice my storytelling.... !!

xoxo,
me!

inspiration a la carte

Sorry I have not posted anything - super busy with my whole listening thing...... don't have a whole lot of time to write.... (rofl)
I have had VERY little "inspiration" in the way of creating my artsy art.....so far in 2009. I pretty much used all the "Inspiration" up all last year (if you are a frequenter to Nest happenings you will know that was my word in 2008) ..... None of the magazines I get at home are making the cut (in terms of providing inspiration) so I picked up two issues of Somerset.....
"IN LOVE"

and "GALLERY"


And can I just say.... OMG!!! I am in love with "IN LOVE" !! It's a special issue on a round robin between 12 ladies who altered 12 books! I do believe I might have found a new outlet to be creative yet once again. I plan on altering a book - straight away!! In GALLERY - they had a section on the most super funky button dolls - so up my alley - I made a few just for fun and I think I am addicted and what a great way to use up my ever growing button collection. I will post some "show and tell" pictures soon but for now I have my listening ears on to see where I am headed - creatively speaking.

My word for 2009

Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf.
Native American


Beginning with last year, instead of making resolutions I can't keep, I decided (with the suggestion of ali edwards....) to choose a word to focus on. A word to live my year by........ in 2008 my word was INSPIRE. I feel like the word did it's duty - served it's purpose.... i was completely inspired to be creative. I looked for inspiration everywhere and found it in the oddest of places........ so that brings my to 2009


In December, I really had to reflect on what my word should be..... ??
I tried to take in account, my life, my surroundings, what needs improvement.... yada yada yada...
So this year, it seemed appropriate that I really needed to step back and LISTEN.

Listen to what my family needs..... both kids and my husband

Listen to what I need - time to rejuvenate

Listen to what people are telling me.... sometimes I don't always want to hear it....

Listen to the what's going on in the world.... instead of just at my house......

Listen to life stories, learn from them, document them.

Listen to the birds - find beauty in new places....

Listen to the laughter - may it be infectious.......

Listen to the silence - and find peace in it.

Listen to my body.... i desperately need to get in shape!

Listen to god's plan for me.... (the most important one of all. as i am a spiritual person)

Listen - just - LISTEN!
--------------------
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force...When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life...When we listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other...and it is this little creative fountain inside us that begins to spring and cast up new thoughts and unexpected laughter and wisdom. ...Well, it is when people really listen to us, with quiet facinated attention, that the little fountain begins to work again, to accelerate in the most surprising way.
Brenda Ueland
The first duty of love is to listen.
Paul Tillich
Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.
Nancy Kerrigan
If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.
A. A. Milne
Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when you'd have preferred to talk.
D.J. Kaufman
An essential part of true listening is the discipline of bracketing, the temporary giving up or setting aside of one's own prejudices, frames of reference and desires so as to experience as far as possible the speaker's world from the inside, step in inside his or her shoes. This unification of speaker and listener is actually and extension and enlargement of ourselves, and new knowledge is always gained from this. Moreover, since true listening involves bracketing, a setting aside of the self, it also temporarily involves a total acceptance of the other. Sensing this acceptance, the speaker will fell less and less vulnerable and more and more inclined to open up the inner recesses of his or her mind to the listener. As this happens, speaker and listener begin to appreciate each other more and more, and the duet dance of love is begun again.
M. Scott Peck, MD

another banner swap

per one of my previous post... I fell in love with this cute mini banner concept. I had to join one more swap. One at the CPA and this one for In this House here are the mini banners I made for them.....



I used the heart on wings concept (again) with an image of vintage valentine cherub.... I included a quote (on the back) that inspired me.

"The quickest way to receive love is to give it;
the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly;
and the best way to keep love is to give it wings."

The picture does not do it justice... the wings are metallic silver and the vintage valentine is on some aged linen paper the background is vintage sheet music. I could not decide between the pink ribbon or the glitter..... so i did half and half.... a total of 6 for the swap.

life is a roller coaster....

life is full of ups and downs.

Today (actually the past few days) have been a little down for our family. Last week we found out that a dear friend of ours was dying. She passed away yesterday. Of course, I am deeply sorrowed by her loss but I am even more sorrowed by the after blow it is leaving on her family. She was way to young to have passed. She left behind a 6 yr old son and her husband of 20 + years. Mother, daughter, wife, friend and animal lover Mary Smith.

She was diagnosed with leukemia over spring of 2008. She fought it off fast and went into remission quickly. She was even back to work, this past fall, teaching. Over the holidays she caught double pneumonia. At which point, they discovered the leukemia was back (with a vengeance). She was unable to fight the leukemia or pneumonia as she had NO white blood cells. She was at MD Anderson (the past 6 wks) with the finest of doctors and most advance technologies. She passed early yesterday morning. Mary was a good friend to us for over 10 years. We met Mary through Mike, her husband - one of our flyball friends. Mike and Mary have the biggest hearts and purest, most genuine of intentions. Mary's was a show horse woman and Mike is a sports-dog man! Together they made a great team.

The hardest part of this loss is trying to imagine Billy (her 6 yr old son) without her. Mary and I were pregnant together with our "first borns". I can't fathom to imagine life for my children without me (their biggest cheerleader). It breaks my heart to think of the pain our friend Mike must be dealing with. Single father of a young child. We so desperately want to be there to console him and help but the price of airflight keeps us from that :(

If you have a minute, please say a prayer (or thought) for our sweet innocent Billy to find protection, comfort and guidance in trying years that lie ahead of him.

giveaway from candra

FREE PRIMA SWAG ALERT!!!!!

my friend candra a PRIMADONNA is giving away a free prima class to one lucky winner and a prima goodie bag to the runner up :) go on over to her blog (by clicking on her name) and post a comment to see if you can win??

good luck,
anna

10 items or less..... check it out folks (it's free on demand if you get the showtime channel)- It's a great flick.... it got me thinking... what would I put on my list ???

Ten items I fancy most in my life...... (listed in no particular order)
1. music
2. my bible
3. the fact that Q can tell me what he needs (i still cry at the the most simple of sentences)
3. my super funny independent 4 yr old
4. blogging
5. being creative
6. being married
7. being a SAHM
8. laughter
9. imac
10. my nikon

art break

we interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post for a "cute" art break.... I signed up for a mini banner swap at the CPA (my friend Linda is hosting) and fell in love... the size is perfectly addicting. This swap had the theme of "love" for valentine's day..... I have always had a wing obsession and when I decided a heart would be fitting for the mini banner - I knew I had to put wings on it :) a few of the banners and art plates I have received from my CPA friends (in the past) have had cute little beads on them..... So I had to try it myself.... to attach the bead - I had to use wire...look what i found.... this cute hot pink colour again perfect for valentines day.....
oh - I'm in love with this project might have to make a few more just for fun!

only so many pictures can be posted.....

seriously - how did I end up taking so many pictures over christmas break? a lot was accomplished and fortunately I have the pictures to prove it! A day after school let out, we packed our duffles and headed up north to Gilroy - my homeland security... (get it?) anyhow - We visited with Nana, Uncle Lawrence and Grandma Mary. We went to the Gilroy Gardens to see "the festival of lights" it has a snoopy twist..... so we saw snoopy - linus- lucy and charlie brown too!! the boys loved snoopy the best. We watched christmas movies and played indoors (because it was chilly outside - just like the song). We then waited patiently waited for Christmas eve and "Daddy" to make to town and had a great meal prepared by my mom (aka nana) and opened presents. He then headed up to Healdsburg to the other half of christmas (see the next post for details/pics...) then headed back down to San Francisco to spend a few more days with nana and uncle lawrence in "the city". We pass through the city several times a year while family house hopping but rarely take the time to enjoy it's beauty and splendor it has to offer. We stayed in Union Square with ALL the hustle bustle of new year's excitement and a few educational conferences...... Ate great food - visited all the usual suspects and rode on those infamous cable cars. I could only pic a few pictures to show you all the fun.... I feel absolutely SWAMPED with pile and piles of photos (maybe more like megabyte after megabytes of digital images....) I am organizing and moving them over to my hard drive as they are rapidly eating up all our computer's speed. I spend very little time on the computer over the break and actually enjoyed it. It made me realize and prioritize what I really want to do on the computer..... i.e. blog....... with that said.... I REALLY need to pass on the INSPIRATION award! LINDA - as always - you are the reason I began to blog and continue to look forward in the blogging world.... so thank you!

This blog is "tag free" as in I cannot be TAGGED, but I can be GIFTED! So..... here are the rules:
1. Please put the logo on your blog
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

Here are my inspirations that have not...to my knowledge...already gotten this award:
Sharon - Serendipity
Sarah - lefotu lounge
Amanda a breakout blog of 2009
Katie - Ragamuffin Gal
Candra - my creative reality
Lawren - just tell me to relax and BREATHE
Mary - good things are happening

Thanks for inspiring me ladies! Happy blogging! xoxo anna

highlights from the gilroy half.......

a precursor.....my little shepherd boy :)

Nana's tree - a huge highlight because it's so colorful and festive!

Seeing grandma Mary!

The festival of lights!

Uncle Lawrence.... breaking it down!!

part 2 (Gilroy half...) "the city"

cable car rides

another amazing tree in union square .....

ghiradelli square..

china town....