Birthdays and the Vision Board

Had a wonderful birthday on Tuesday. My mother and sister brought me b-day cards with money in them. The best gift. So we spent the day shopping. Bought a baby corral for Babygirl, and a booster seat so she can sit at the table and eat with us, freeing the highchair for new baby. We also got her a rocking horse, which is just plain adorable. We finished the day eating dinner (the whole family!) at a great little Mexican restaurant downtown (my favorite). Everyone got along. Everyone was happy. Even the teenagers. Wonderful day!

So, I'm hoping the baby corral will help out with my space problem. If I have babygirl contained, maybe I can really break out the paints and paint at the dining room table. I'm hopeful. She's not too happy about being trapped behind her little fence, but if I stay close, it might be manageable.

Also, put the first image on the vision board: one of the houses we like in a suburb way south of town. It's a newer ranch with 3 bds and 2 baths on the main level, along with a living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry, and two car garage. No stairs!!! But, it also has a full unfinished basement which we can turn into more bedrooms, a family room and a studio. The space is there, at least, and I can set up a studio in a corner somewhere. Who needs walls? And R can have the garage for his workshop and large assortment of mostly unused tools. Yey. It has a huge yard, which is not landscaped, and sits on a corner lot. I can't really see any houses around it, but we plan on driving out there this weekend to really check it out. I'm thinking it will be perfect. More space, one level. Everything will come together. I'm thinking of renting the old Victorian, which in this horrible sellers market, might be the best choice. Then we can keep our town house as an investment, hoping the value will go up instead of down.

Everything is good today. Babygirl even slept all through the night without wanting to share my bed. I'm thinking I should take a photo and put that image on the vision board: Babygirl sleeping in her own bed all night long.

Still reading Wayne Dyer books. A new thought...I always thought when I fell off "the path" it was about living spiritually, thinking in more profound ways, and following my calling. I have spent a lot of time trying to get back to art and more enlightened ways of thinking and living, trying to relocate my spiritual "path." But, Wayne Dyer suggests that "the path" is one of unconditional love towards all people and all things. At least that's my take on it. That's it. If I can practice this unconditional love everything will start to come together. Harder than it sounds, but certainly worth the effort.

And the Universe put it to the test, right away when my oldest girl's school called to tell me she hasn't been there for a couple of weeks. Interesting, and I won't get into the details of that conversation, but I tried to constantly remind myself to let go of the anger and disappointment and hold onto the unconditional love. I'm still telling myself that. We'll see.

Dreaming of art, thinking of children's books

I dreamed of art last night...that I was creating it and showing it. And I woke up almost inspired.

I'm thinking of children's picture books again. I love good stories. I love children's books with the over-sized pages and artwork. I have two finished manuscripts, but no artwork to go with them. I have submitted them to a few publishers, but only received form rejection letters. I should try to find an agent, I think. Submissions are so time consuming and the postage is hard to come by sometimes.

So maybe I should try to create some art for my books. Or come up with some new ideas for manuscripts. The stories are so much fun to write and my imagination runs wild when I'm engaged. That might be just what I need to connect with my muse again. Dance the dance.

Long days

Haven't been motivated to do much of anything lately. I have been dreaming of bigger houses and searching the net for possibilities. Still a dream.

Went to the doctor today. Go back in two weeks for a checkup and another ultrasound. They are still concerned about the size of the baby. I know he seems to have gotten larger in the last week or so. I'm feeling it. I think he's camped out on some major organs now. And I sure am tired.

Baby girl is not taking consistent naps, and when she goes to bed at night, I want to go to bed too. I am trying to train her to nap in her pack and play, hoping I can gain some free time.

No new work on the basement, unfortunately. I think about working on the kitchen table, pretending I could have a makeshift art table, a place to create, but then I wonder what I will create? Used to be I'd just begin and the subject would come. Have I lost total contact with my muse, afraid to begin anything because of interruptions? I think I better get used to interruptions if I ever plan on working on my art again.

Did get that vision board up on the wall, and so far it remains blank. What do I want? What does a completed studio look like? I need to pull it together...