Ho, ho, ho... MORI Christmas!

Looking back before looking forward.

Looking back to the holiday goodness...

Random Musing:
I don't know if you are superstitious, or believe in signs or feel that there are spirits around us and honestly, I am not sure how much of the above I hold onto myself. What I do know for sure though is that those that have passed before us come back to us in nature and leave us a little sign or nudge to try to communicate. Nature will always speak to us if we listen.

I don't know how much I've shared about my interactions with hawks but there is this connection I have with hawks ever since my father died. Especially since my sister passed, I have had these incredible quick episodes with hawks. For example, hawks fly along side my car while I drive down a certain street and not just near my car but right along side of my car. Right along side! Also, not just once, not just twice but several different times. I've had a hawk swoop down about 3 feet from my head once while out walking. Sometimes I'll see one perched on a street sign or a highway sign waiting for me and turning it's head while I pass along. Crazy interactions with hawks...

Yesterday, I was at a corner near my house and a hawk fly right up to my car, across my windshield and turned and looked inside. I almost hit it with my car, it was that close.

These are those times that I think nature is speaking. The interpretation is up to me, and usually it feels like a simple visit to say hello, but sometimes it feels like someone is letting me know I'm noticed. Someone is paying attention. We are not alone in this. It's all going to be alright.

And I'm listening.

I know for a fact I'm not crazy either as Mr Man now has interactions with Hawaiian Terns and my neighbor has hummingbird visitors. See? You just have to listen, nature speaks.

How about you? How does nature speak to you?

Thursday's Gratitude: I am so grateful to have memories to look back on and memories in the making for the future.

Hand made smiles.

I love a handmade Christmas. I wish I could hand-make every gift but quite frankly, I just don't have that kind of talent. But, when I can, I jump at the chance to create something cute for someone even cuter. This is a pair of pajamas I made for my niece Audrey and her American Girl doll needed a matching set...

She loved them and I loved the smile it brought to her face for Christmas!

Tuesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for some last minute encounters with friends at the Zoo!

Wear your passion.

There is a lovely page of quotes circulating around, I've taken some of them and created this... it makes me nod my head and smile. If this makes you smile too, feel free to save this to your computer and print on 8.5"X11" paper.

Monday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a warm sunny day and few crowds this morning.

Merry Christmas 2011.

Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday and a very merry Christmas! Enjoy your friends and family as they are greatest gift we have. Thank you so much to everyone who stops by here, you are truly valued.

Friday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for my friends who are the family I get to choose.

Food and Drawings...

I've been specifically illustrating food for the past week so I just had to make another recipe for the fantastic TheyDrawandCook.com website. The book with the same name is out in bookstores now and happened to make Martha Stewart's must have for Christmas this year! It's a really fun and delightful book to give as a gift or keep for yourself.

I just might make this tonight... except I don't have asparagus. Maybe kale would be a good substitute!

Thursday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for the library on Coronado Island as they almost always have the books on my list! I am also extremely grateful for the A in my psychology class last semester!

Eagerness in the kitchen.

Josie was a little too eager when baking muffins the other day...

I was a little too eager when I was going to make holiday fudge and then settled for peppermint ice cream instead.

Wednesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful to be almost finished with a really big project! Somehow this happens every year around this time!

Adventures.

Josie and Skittles the kitty are having more adventures...

How about you? What adventures have you had lately? Me... well, getting my deck fixed so we don't fall through it was today's adventure.

Tuesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a lovely physical therapist to help my left forearm get better.

Just hanging around.

I so love silhouettes.... how about you?

Monday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a short line at the post office today! whew!

Drawin' and Cookin'.

Since I've been making more illustrated recipes, I thought it was time to submit one to www.theydrawandcook.com.

These are super easy to make and VERY tasty. So good, you can't eat just one!

Saturday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for an outing with a friend and not being one of the frazzled shoppers at the mall!

Lot's to be grateful for...

Another little peak at something cookin' up around here... what could it be?

Friday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for unexpected lovely people from the past popping up in my current life, time to volunteer in The Kid's classroom, and funny furry dogs who bring joy into my home.

Mellow yellow.

My friend's gorgeous daughter is off the market and gettin' married! I am honored to create some Save the Date cards for her and these are a few ideas...

Personally, I like the bookmark as my nose is ALWAYS in a book and I'd like to look at these lovely faces everyday!

Random Musing:
I've been infatuated with the 12 days of Christmas (in case you couldn't tell) and all along I've been making art with Four Calling Birds in part of the sequence. A day or two ago, I stumbled on a blog and read it's not "Four CALLING Birds" but "Four COLLY Birds!" Never, ever heard of that and truly if that's the truth... I'm screwed. Anyone ever heard that mistake before?

Thursday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for the parent teacher conference I attended this morning for the knowledge I receive about The Kid is worth it's weight in gold!

Cookin' art.

There is somethin' cookin' up over here and this is a sneak peak.

I think it might be a little obvious...

Wednesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful to be able to stay home with a sick child and get a ton of work done!

Skittles the kitty.

Josie and Skittles the kitty just couldn't wait til' Santa arrived.

Come to think of it, neither can I!

Tuesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for getting in touch with good friends from the past.

Look together.

What did you see today that was beautiful? I saw some fantastic rain.

Monday's Gratitude: I am so grateful to have registered for the exact classes I need for next semester.

Words to pick.

It's that time of year again... one that welcomes change and a fresh start once the holidays cease. For the past five years, I've allowed a word to appear that steamrolls the direction of the coming year. When I started this, I thought I was in control and could choose what my word would be and how that could determine the outlook of the year. Quickly I discovered that that's not how the process works. I "get" a word once I am quiet and meditate on what direction my life is going and usually what is lacking comes up in the form of a word. For instance, last year was hope. I was all out of hope and this word kept showing up and showing up so bada bing... that was my word. Today, this third week in December, I've realized I have my hope back. Same goes for the past years with the words, simplify, intention and motivate.

How about you? What word would pick you for next year? I'm leaning towards abundance and healing myself.

PS. My friend told me that my blog was down for a few days and another person told me she had problems leaving comments. I think I fixed the problems, hopefully fixed the problems, although I couldn't duplicate any of them. Going back to a basic blogger layout may just do the trick. If you see anything that might need my attention, can you please give me a holler? I would be most grateful! THX!

Christmas art.

I almost forgot to show you my finished 12 Days of Christmas art...

I had some cards from Amanda Woodward (I think she recently got married and changed her name!) and since I couldn't bear to part with them, I created something personal for my home. I'll look fondly upon this for years to come.

I just love the holidays, don't you?

Sunday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for 10 years today of being a cancer survivor! Whoo-hoo!

Holiday Cuteness.

My favorite person in the whole world was all dressed up for a school holiday performance and I just had to share this mighty fine cuteness. Wish I could share the ballroom dancing performance! 5th graders doing the Waltz, Merengue, Tango, and the Swing is a sight to be SEEN!

How about you? What kind of cuteness going on to you have this holiday season?

Saturday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a delightful pre-lunch outing at the fabulously decorated Coronado hotel Del!

To You From Me.

Thought it would be fun to make some fun tags to decorate your gifts, so this is a FREE printable for you to copy to your computer and print out as many as you need. Of course, since I can't get the 12 days of Christmas out of my head they have made it onto your gift tags! Enjoy!

I'm almost done with my Christmas gift gathering (shopping!) How about you? Are you beating the crowds?

Friday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for some Christmas art making today.

Holiday happiness.

Christmas joy. Festive time. Celebrating our Savior's birth. It's all good.

Wednesday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for freelance checks to arrive at just the right time!

Santa Gnome please come home.

I would love to have him in my yard!

Monday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a fun afternoon celebrating my friend's birthday! Everyday is a good day for a celebration!

Sprinkled with kindness.

I've been on a quest for the past few years to be very intentional in my personal life, work life, with my friends, and most of all with my family. Being intentional doesn't mean it's the easy way or your message will be willingly received by another person. It does mean however that you are giving your best, even if it's the best you have for that moment, and that is the intention of your true self. It is really all you need for that moment. It doesn't matter how the other person responds to your truth because they are responsible for their own actions and you are responsible for yours.

In an uncomfortable word exchange with someone close to me, my intention was not received very well this past weekend. In fact, the other person was very defensive and tried to bully me into thinking I was in the wrong. But I wasn't wrong (even though that wasn't the issue at hand.) I stuck to my intention and my reason for speaking up, brushed aside the strong desire to back down and please, and sprinkled my words with kindness. It was the best I had to give at that moment and the sudden A-HA moment I had in my heart felt so right. Kindness wins every time.

How about you? How do you manage to stay calm and kind when bullied with words?

Sunday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for some get your hands dirty kind of yard work. My back hurts, my feet ache but I feel so complete.

Tis the holiday season...

It's the holiday spirit! This is some printable holiday art I made. If you would like a copy of this to frame and place on your wall this Christmas season, save to your computer and print away on a letter size paper!

 Happy printing!

Saturday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for lovely info to download to my IPhone and learn something... also known as podcasts!

Thinking before you leap.

I've got some gifts under my tree... and it finally looks organized and well thought out this year instead of a cluster of crappy holiday paper!

How about you? Do you think about your wrapping before you begin?

Friday's Gratitude: I am so grateful for a lovely chance to stroll through Balboa Park during a Christmas themed festival tonight.