Apologies!!

April 17,2011

I am so sorry I haven't done any posting in a while but things have been kind of crazy.I have been so busy doing bookwork for my husbands business on top of working a 40 hour plus week,whilst running a house & raising 3 teenage girls!! Can anyone tell me why I fel so tired?

So not only has my blogging suffered, but so has my painting-I've barely done anything all week & have been itching to do something.So seeing as today is my first day off from everything I am going to paint & play to my hearts content.And seeing as I 've had no luck selling anything on Etsy yet I'm going to hang up all of my finished paintings in my house as they are just too cute to be stored away until they sell.

All this aside,please check out the photos below of my beautiful girls.They truly are the inspiration to my life & what keeps me going.I feel very blessed & they never cease to amaze me with their depth of character.I don't know what we have done as parents to have ended up with such amazing individuals.We must have gotten something right along the way.





I hope everyone is having a lovely week-end.Take care.xxx

Being Authentic...

6th April,2011

Oscar Wilde once said "Most people are other people.Their thoughts are someone elses opinions,their lives a mimicry,their passions a quotation."

This statement got me thinking.Is the person I present to the world my true self or merely what I want the world to see me as? I consider myself an honest person,but at times I feel I have not been completely honest with myself & what I really want.

Our desire to be liked by everyone can at times overshadow what our true self needs, & our individuality can disappear into the ether of life.We want to be liked by our boss,liked by our friends & most importantly not just liked,but loved & wanted by those closest to us.But at what cost to our self does this constant need for approval exact.

The personal cost is,that we stay in jobs too long because we need the money & not because they enrich our lives,we stay in relationships too long,even when they may be toxic & no longer working just because we are afraid of being alone.We underparent our children,because we are scared that if we are too firm with them & expect more then they will not like us,forgetting that it is our job to parent our children first & foremost.

All the time whilst keeping everyone else happy, our own sense of self can slip away barely unnoticed until it is just a faded memory of what we once were & what we once dreamed about for ourselves.So I ask you,in light of Oscar Wildes words-who are you really?Is the persona you present to the world who you truly are?Because if we are not honest with ourselves & what we want from our lives,then we can never live an authentic life.It is only by being present & truly authentic that we will realise the true beauty of life & all it has to offer.Let me know what you think.

I hope you had a great day.xxx

The Importance of Being Grateful....

April 4th,2011

I have found myself lately trying to recognise all the little things in my life for which I am grateful for.I think most of us are so stressed out & worried about all the "what ifs" in our lives that we can lose sight of whats right in front of us.It is those little moments that I am trying to recognise & to take a litle time & space in my busy life & offer up my thanks to the universe for everything that I have been blessed with.

In light of this realisation I would like to share with you what I was grateful for today...
...I was grateful for the health of my 3 beautiful daughters & my husband
...I was grateful for the strength & support of my husband
...I was grateful for hearing my husband laugh out loud at the The Comedy Gala on television (his laugh was the first thing I noticed about him when we met over 20 years ago)
...I was grateful for the beautiful weather we had today.The sun was just beautiful & the day had that lovely Autumn feel to it
...I was grateful that I got to play with my paints tonight & that I got to work on a new canvas of a quaint girl

These were just a few moments in my day that I wanted to share with you.Today just felt like a good day & there was much that I felt thankful for.Let me know what you have been feeling grateful for & what you did to honour those little moments in your busy day.

Hope you all had a safe & happy day.xxx

Simplicity-The Rural Dream...

April 1st,2011

I don't know about you,but I am craving a simpler way of existing.This has been a craving that has been perculating in my soul for a couple of years now.My husband & I have both been working very hard at making a life for us & our 3 daughters but it feels like we are just treading water & not getting very far.Do you ever feel like this?

I feel that no matter how hard we work we make no ground-someone keeps moving the goal posts.It feels like we will never own our piece of the suburban jungle!!

Well lately this seemingly working for nothing has come to a head & the dream I have always had is constantly on my mind.Life feels like a constant scramble to make ends meet & keep all the balls in the air.The mother guilt alone that comes with working full time outside the home is enough at the best of times.Trying to find the balance between working & family is an endless struggle.

I desperately want to live on small acerage where we are as self sufficient as we can possibly be.I want to live off the grid whereby we are responsible totally for our power,water & waste management.I no longer want to be a the mercy of greedy councils,water suppliers & power companies.I want to grow most,if not all of our food, so that I don't have to deal with the lies that the supermarket giants tell us with regards to the food that they supply us.

I want to scoop up my children & take them away & teach them a simpler way of life that does not have to be dominated by stress & fatigue.I want to paint & create a way of life around my art with the health of my family at the centre of it all.I figure if I am going to work long hours it might as well be for the direct benefit of my family.

I know that to many that this sounds naive & full of hippy hopefulness.But I genuinely believe that I am not alone in this quest for a simpler existence.So I am going to forge ahead with the belief that if I start & set things in place,that hopefully soon we will be able to start & head in the direction of making this dream a reality.Let me know if you ever dream of running away!!

With regards to my art here are some images of what I have been working on.Check my Etsy shop for the items that are for sale...

Blog Following...

I was so excited when I got up this morning & checked on my little blog.Do you want to know why?It's because I now have not 1,but 2 followers!! My new follower is Thea fom Thea & Sami!!
Now if anyone who has a blog knows,it is getting people to follow your blog,not just read it,that is the hard part.I keep checking,hoping that someone might be interested in my art & my little musings.I realise that these things take time & I will need to be patient.

So I want to send a big thank-you to Thea for choosing to follow my blog & also for leaving a lovely comment-you made my day:)

Art wise I have just about finished & will be listing 3 more little paintings on Etsy very soon.Two of these are new designs-one is a little owl( the first of many I hope) & one is of a babooska doll.The third is another lovely angel.I am also working on a cute little horse as well.I will let you know once they have been listed.

So stay tuned & I will let you know once they have been listed.
I hope you all had a great day.xxx

Being Present...

March 28th,2011

What does being present mean exactly?I think we would all argue that we are present in our lives,but are we really? I mean most of us go through our day fairly mindlessly,just praying that we get through it relatively unscathed & that everything on our exhaustive"to do" list gets done.

Last night I was reminded of how important & how easy it is to be present in any given moment.My husband & I were out on our nightly walk & we were blessed with seeing not one,but two magnificent owls.Now if I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me I would have missed their regal presence.They were just beautiful & they let us get quite close to them so that we could get a good look.

My husband & I have been walking together at night for years & we have never seen any owls in the wild,we've seen plenty of wallabies,snakes & the occasional possum,but never an owl.Now if anyone knows me they know how much I love owls.During the day I'd started painting some canvases with little owls on them & that somehow this was just too big a coincidence that these 2 beautiful owls were suddenly in my physical world & not just cute images floating around in my imagination .

So,getting back to being more present in our lives,just remember to breath more & try not to think too far ahead.Pay particular attention to your children when they are talking to you,hug & kiss the ones you love more & pay attention to your physical & emotional wellbeing & maybe just maybe when you are out walking you will have the privilage of seeing a beautiful owl in the wild...

Let me know what you do to try & be more present in your everyday life.
Take care.xxx

Combining Art & Family

March 25th,2011

Feeling pretty proud of myself.I managed to work 40ish hours,keep on top of the housework,finish some new canvases which I love & have just listed in my Etsy shop.(Be sure to check them out & let me know what you think).

What I am most proud of is that my girls have been great this week.They have been a great help to me this week with taking photos of my art & helping me with my blog. I am also proud of myself for not getting too stressed out, given that most nights I am not getting to bed until 11.30 pm & then getting up the following day at 5.30 am!!


The truth is I think that by allowing myself to be creative again has allowed me to de-stress at the end of the day.I know that I am itching to get home from work & get everything else done so that I can go & play with my paints & pastels.Most mornings I try to at least go & do a little layering on any of the canvases I am working on,just so that I get a little creative fix before I go to work.

Let me know what you do to de-stress & keep your sanity in this crazy fast paced world.I'd love to hear from you.
Here are the photos of the paintings I have just finished.Be sure to check them out.
Take care.xxx