Is there a lesson to be learned here?

God,

I have one simple question - what are you trying to teach me? I mean, there's just no way that this past week, these last few months, this past year can not have some greater purpose. Every time I settle into things just a little bit, every time I am determined to take control of my temper, attitude and life - a wicked little wrench gets thrown into that gear. I don't take hints very well, I can never read between the lines. So, if you would just drop a big neon sign in front of me with instructions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Devotedly Yours,

Lisa

Christmas in Carolina

Despite being sick and oh so brilliantly setting my I-phone in a glass of water, Christmas was pretty nice. The kids went out of town from Wednesday through Saturday, so it gave me some free time to just do whatever. When they came home Saturday, they had a blast opening their presents. It was nice and stressfree - and the kids got to just enjoy making a mess and playing with their new toys. A nice little bonus for us here - we had snow for Christmas, almost anyway. We woke up Sunday morning to around 6-8" of snow here. Even though I'm not a snow person (I just can't get past the cold), the snow was a beautiful sight. After awhile though, I was ready for it to be gone. I just don't like the cold at all. I mean, come on, I was born in the tropics and grew up in Texas and North Carolina - do I really seem like one for the cold? I do have to give big kudos to our DOT since our roads were pretty clear the next day. I was able to venture out and get some after Christmas shopping done. Oh well, I guess there was one good thing about snow here - extra day off work!

Some pics - Enjoy!

TMI

I don't like to get personal on my blog, I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I don't want someone feeling sorry for me or thinking I'm complaining. Maybe it's because I can't stand whining and listening to others complain (hence why I have blocked updates from some of my Facebook friends). I feel a lot of guilt when I complain, after all what do I have to complain about? My home (there are people who don't even have a home), my job can be stressful (well, at least I have a job that pays well), I feel very lonely (yet I am surrounded by friends and family), I never have enough money (but I don't balance my check book and still pay all my bills on time). But, there are days when all I want to do is get on here and wallow in my misery, share my crappy day, cuss & fuss and be immature. There are some days that I wish I could just vent on here - about work, the kids, family, just life in general - but I don't and I won't. So, I guess as usual, I will type my post of ranting and raving and crying over my silly little problems - I will let everyone know how much my life stinks and I will never hit publish.

Lisa Gets Her Groove Back

Wow, it's been alost two months. What can I say - I've been busy. Ok, not that busy but busy enough. I found some time to volunteer at the Art of Carolinas with the Carolina Mixed Media Artist Guild (which I finally joined, in case I didn't already tell you). I was a very good girl and didn't spend tons of money. I've been packing up lots of clothing and household things to donate - which is making me very happy, no more clutter. I also had a fantastic Thanksgiving, the first great Thanksgiving that I've had in years. All the food turned out perfect and everyone actually stayed for more than just an hour or two. Also, my house is slowly but sure coming back together, enough that I don't mind if someone stops without calling first since the house is actually fairly organized. I've managed to finally reclaim my diningroom. I've been Miss Handyman too, changing the light fixture in the kitchen and the chandelier in the diningroom - all by myself. Shoot - who needs a man?? Not me...though sometimes I think it would be nice...
Since the diningroom no longer looks like it used to, I am not embarrassed to post a pic of the before, when the kids used it as a playroom. This is when the room was actually somewhat clean, if you can believe that:



And now the after:



My art stuff is back in the cabinet, all arranged in an "orderly fashion":



I'm thinking that I may have to find a different cabinet - this one is just not working for me. As you can see on the table, I have my journals laid out getting gessoed. I took a class with my buddy Ophelia this weekend and got motivated to begin creating an art journal. Here are some pages I did in the class:



I guess I'm finally getting back into the groove of life. Hopefully it will continue.