DSC_0498Hey everyone, nothing much to share from me today, but I wanted to pass along that Lani Kent of Healing Expressions is offering a lovely giveaway – two, actually! Two names will be drawn on Christmas Day for the two lovely gift sets shown here. All you have to do is leave a comment on that entry (linked above) with your contact info. There is also a truly beautiful “virtual open house” series of pics in that same post. If my name is drawn, I really hope I get the first one – I just adore that “Embrace the Journey” ornament and as you guys know I’m in a super nest-y mood! I would love more inspiring art for my walls, and the message really speaks to me. DSC_0494

I’ve been cleaning and organizing and decorating like mad. I guess the Christmas season brought it out in me, it may have started with setting up a wreath and some lights for a small family gathering last weekend. My boyfriend and I had my mom and two siblings to visit and wrap Christmas presents as part of my plan to my Christmas less stressful from now on. Too often in our family people end up staying up til 2am wrapping gifts and then are crabby and tired the next day. The party was bittersweet, as my father’s memorial service was the day before. He got sick in early November and things progressed very quickly; he had surgery on the 24th but they were unable to stop the bleeding. Needless to say, it’s been a difficult holiday season for us all. The service last weekend was very healing for me though, and I’m working through my grief as best I can. It’s been quite the reminder that life can be so short. At 27, I am about half the age my father was when he died – and nearly twice the age my dear cousin was when he died close to twenty years ago. I’m sorry to sound so dark and morbid, but this thought has occurred to me many, many times over the past few weeks and in a strange way it’s a very encouraging one; one that encourages me to live my life because it can be so short. Even the longest life will go by quickly, so I’d better get moving and do the things I keep meaning to do. Maybe that’s part of my nesting mood too – I’ve been meaning to decorate and make my apartment homey for years now, but never got to it. But now I have an pair of fairy wings from a few Halloween ago staple-gunned to my wall, the collaborative watercolor piece from last year’s art retreat FINALLY hung up over my whiteboard, and today I even got out hammer and nails to create a happy little halo of white Christmas lights around the studio. They are never coming down!

Gosh, I thought I didn’t have much to share, but I guess I just meant I didn’t have much ART to share today. Sometime soon I’m going to go through my art journal (my first, which I started in September – did I mention that already in a previous post? I forget.) and take a bunch of pictures so I have stuff to share even on days I have nothing new finished. I will also try to take some studio pictures, to show you more of all this nesting I’m talking about. Probably no post tomorrow though, my family is coming over for a second round of wrapping! Next year, I hope to get it done in one day, but it’s been an unusual holiday season to say the least. Today I would like to leave you with a lovely video from the wise and wonderful willowing – yes, I figured out how to do it without crashing my computer! (I hope!) She shares some powerful insights about the concept of “being here now” – something that I feel is very important for me; in general, and especially during the holiday season, AND especially with what’s on my mind about life being short, and how I need to really LIVE my life, savour every moment.