Drowning in Paperwork..

I am doing that backstroke through a sea of papers. Recert. paperwork, monthly accounting stuff, State childcare organization paperwork, title paperwork...I am drowning in paperwork!

Every time I think I am all done..someone wants me to fill out some more papers..

I think I need another latte....triple shot please....

And what am I doing when I finish the paperwork....yup kiddos...

But...later today when I am all done with my kiddos and paperwork... I can sit down and create a few more of these! Ahhhhhhh....... Happy Tuesday all, Sarah

Quilting Bee #46

Good morning all! I thought I might have my friend come by again and offer up some of her delicious fare. She can make you about any hot or cold thing to drink you can think of..latte, chai, tea, granita, Italian Soda, smoothie..you name your poison! She also makes the most delicious bagels and cream cheese..with almost anything you can think of on top! So step right up and place your order!

I have racked something different today..we are working on the edges today..finishing up our quilt full of changes. So glad you came today..Please pull up a chair and join me.

The Quilting Bee has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now. I feel like it is lacking punch of late..needing something more..something different. Sometimes I think my muse is telling me I have played this one out and it is time to do something different with this time with you each Monday morning. Would you like to see this morph into something new..different..a different format..ideas..hmmmmm...I need some input here. Are there subjects you would like to offer up..or ask me something? Tell me what ya think!

So..the other thing that has been on my mind this week is the subject of support. Do you have it? Do those around you in your life support your ideas and creations, work, you? Or do you struggle along with your own soul keeping you going as others around you try to break you down? Who is your support group..do you have folks that you can be brutally honest with? When your day goes to hell in a hand basket is there someone there to hold you up and make it better?

I have an amazing support group here online..women and men who offer me happy dances and whoots when I succeed, a soft place to land when I am hurting, an ear to let me vent and a shoulder to let me cry. I am thankful daily for you folks who support me up. Honestly I am not sure how I would function without them. So when I loose one of those folks..I take it hard. I miss Renee...I truly do. I miss her words. There are some who would say..well you never met her for real. Well...I will tell you..it felt real to me. I am as invested in my friends here as I am in the outside world. Sometimes I feel more myself here. What ya read and see here is what ya get. This does not mean I am lost in cyberspace and not functioning in the real world..I do that every day. Honestly I function pretty well out there. I have friends I treasure and folks whom I see daily. Some are inch deep friends an some are mile deep. But my support system is mainly here.

I often wonder if I would have gotten so far with my artwork and blogging and photography if I had not had you all! Well seriously..I do not wonder..I know. I would not have. It is simple and clear to me. This amazing group of folks has kept me honest, and on my path. With encouragement and honesty, love and friendships that I treasure. Friendships that I want to nurture and grow. I find that as my artwork is more successful and my muse demands I stretch and grow in new directions..I have trouble some weeks keeping up with everyone..I hate that. I don't want to be one of those bloggers that posts and then never has time to visit. So..I have been working on my organizing again. Always tweaking that. Because to be honest with you..I don't get a huge amount of support out here..which some days saddens me. So when I say you all are precious to me..I mean it! You are a gift to me every day! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So today I am asking you if you would like to see the Bee go in a new direction..or maybe I need to offer up a new concept for Monday Mornings. Would you like it to keep the format it has now? Let Fly folks..it is a request for some honestly!
If you would like...you might also share with us about your support system!
Thank you for coming today and being honest with me!! I love it when you come..where shall we go from here? Hugs and love, Sarah

Ok need a skinny, triple latte with a shot of raspberry, light on the foam please! What can I get you?

Alllllllll Dddddaaayyyyyyy....

So today I get to go fulfill my daycare licensing hours..all eight of them. Honestly it should be more like 25 but..that is the rule for now. Seriously it should be some fun. I guess my problem is that most of these classes I could design and teach in my sleep. Generally they are geared for folks that are starting out in the business. Am taking a triple latte and an extra Starbucks shot for later in the day.

So you ask..why are you not teaching..am working on that one! I have submitted my transcripts to the State group in charge of it. We shall see where that goes! I do so love teaching women!! Seriously these classes should be a little challenging and a whole lot of fun! Just my thought on the matter..we are teaching kiddos for peat sakes! Let Fly with the silly already!!

Tomorrow I am artworking until the cows come on home. Giggle..no seriously I am.


I hope you al have a wonderful weekend!! Namaste, Sarah

OMG ..it's Thursday??????

So...really..seriously..it is Thursday??? It has been one of those weeks. The kind that everything goes doodelywonkers and you just can't seem to figure out why or catch up. I have had a herd here all week...happy, laughing, very loud kiddos! Which is good...and messy and busy and necessary to chase. They have Spring fever and are in need of running and screaming and asking the same question over and over again..or singing the same song 50 times in a row.

Now generally this does not phase me..I am pretty calm amid kiddo chaos..but this week..well..maybe not so much. My plate is overflowing, I had a long interview with the State daycare folks (good thing), I had a huge migraine all one day...and ...

I broke my toe. Yeah ...broke my toe. I wanted to blame that kiddo up there with the silly mug...not her fault.
Of course this one was the next on the list.. sweet loving pooch is always underfoot..but no not her fault either.


I tripped over my own pair of boots. After telling my kids at least 100 times to put their shoes away when they kick them off so no one will trip on them...I did not..and broke my toe on my own big boots. Sigh.
What did this smart boy say.."Mom..it's Karma, you should have picked up your boots!". Smart ass..LOL. But very true!!

It is now a nasty mix of yellow and green and purple..won't show you ..ick!

So when I got everything cleaned, interviewed, fed, cleaned, washed, ordered, drawn, edited, updated, erased, fixed, cleaned ...I went out and looked at the sky! A brilliant shade of blue. So even though it was one of those weeks..now that I am awake and back...it is a beautiful day.

I hope you are having a non broken toe, non computer failure, organized, calm, blue sky filled week! Hugs all, Sarah

Some New Artwork and Photography...& Some News

"Scottie Portrait" this one comes framed...

Good Tuesday morning all! I have been working on several commission pieces..and managing to get in a few that my fingers were itching to do. I have made a few head pooch decisions this week..for one I have dropped my website. So...the link is gone and I will be listing things on Etsy and my selling blog now. I will continue to take commission pieces..I so love creating things just for you..what a joy that is. Frankly I just could not justify the time I was spending, or the money for that matter!! So when my renewal came up..I decided it was time to cut it loose. So pop by my selling blog this week..I will be adding new work and redecorating. Shhhhh it is a secret..but I may also have a giveaway there..

Springy Easter Basket. matted.


I have also been working on my camera skills. My Rebel required..OK my perfectionist side wants to understand how to make this bad girl fly...out of point and shoot mode. I have been making a study of Tink. I bought myself one tax treat this year...a telephoto lens. Not a huge one but a good one to start on. So I have been getting a few across the yard shots. Here are a couple I liked.


Some serious bug stalking going on here...

I loved this shot of Fox..it has been VERY warm this winter..the kids were outside having some fun yesterday. Some serious stalking going on here too!! LOL:)

So even though it is still white and wintery in most of the county...we have Spring popping here. Sorry guys..my only comfort in showing you these shots..is last year we had seven feet of snow at this point! I understand...I really do.
It is suppose to be nearly 70 here today! Very strange! This was the thermometer on Sunday afternoon!


My garlic is already almost 4 inches high!! Let us hope there is not a heavy freeze coming!

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! Hugs and Namaste, Sarah

Quilting Bee #45

Good morning all! Yes..it is Monday..I know..I need another Sunday thank you very much. So I headed off to our favorite donut shop here in town and bought several dozen donuts. There are chocolate on chocolate, maple plain, glazed, Bavarian cream, apple bear claws, and almond bear claws, powdered and sprinkled green for March. Jelly with lemon and blueberry and Long Johns with maple and chocolate! Of course that delicious Kona coffee and several kinds of hot tea. I have also set out a delicious array of cut fruit for you melons and berries. There is as always yogurt and homemade granola if you would rather. I have racked a cozy quilt today. So glad you could join me today, please pull up a chair!

As many of you know I spend a great deal of my week watching other people's kiddos. Some days I have more and the house is a full of noisy, joyous chaos. On other days only a couple and it is well, still loud LOL! I have taught in one way or another for about 25 years now. Add in hours of artwork, my wonderful family, shopping, cleaning, accounting for three businesses..you get the idea. So by Thursday my head is thinking about the weekend..all that I am going to get done etc. etc. etc.. So if you are like me Monday morning is often a reflection of what didn't get done over the weekend. I tend to overbook myself.

This Saturday I woke up feeling very blue. Not just blue.. but burned out blue. Generally a good walk in the fresh air will shake it. Or sometimes just that first cup of coffee. I am generally a happy person. So when I have a day...it kinda takes me by surprise. All I wanted to do was sit and do nothing. Not clean, not talk (really odd for me), not do artwork. I just wanted to sit and watch movies, sports or loose myself in a good book. I wanted to crawl into bed and snuggle up with a cup of coffee and be left alone. I fought it all morning trying to explain away my dragginess. Finally after my second cup of coffee and no change..I crawled back into bed..unheard of.. and turned on the TV. I sat there for a while before folks started peaking in and asking if I was ok...yup...doing nothing. That got some strange looks.

It was right then that it hit me. As I lay there under all the blankets watching the Olympics with the cat curled up next to me. I was relaxed, I was perking up, I was SMILING! You know in that ...ahhhhhhh sort of way...just sinking right into the pillows with your hands behind your head. Mmmmmm yes! I had given myself permission to just be. I was being present in that moment..I was listening to my body...yup that is what I needed.

I did not stay in bed all day...only for about an hour or so. But I did stay in my PJ's..and a bandanna. I watched movies all afternoon with a passion and just relaxed. I do so love "Forbidden Kingdom". I went to bed very early and woke up Sunday morning like a new woman! I was relaxed, I had energy I got alot of cleaning and artwork done...I woke this morning feeling like it was a good weekend all around.

So what is your point Sarah, you ask? Just a gentle reminder to take care of you. As the new month starts and we are heading for Spring and all of the activities it promises. As the new year rolls on and we get caught up in all of the things to do...are you listening to your body? Are you taking some time for you every week? As a Mom, wife, sister, friend, teacher, artist, photographer, teachers helper, caretaker, house cleaner, shopper, nurse...well you get it..I'm like you...do you stop each week and find time for you? Cause I don't know about you..but in the day to day hustle and bustle..I forget to carve out some time for me each week...each day. To meditate, pray, walk, read, watch a movie, or just plain do nothing at all for a whole day now and again. Maybe if I had remembered to do a bit each day..just for me..I would not have needed a whole day and night to recover! Because seriously I am a much better Mom, wife, teacher, artists, friend, helper etc. etc. when I am not burned out! Are you taking care of you?

So please share with us today what you do for you each day or week..to take care of your own needs. Or maybe you need to..tell us what you would like to do for you each day or week!! I do so love it when you come and join me here!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

I think I will have some of the watermelon..the delicious mouthwatering smell is calling me. I think I may need a good strong cup of coffee too!! What can I get for you? Hugs and Namaste, Sarah