every-single-day

Sanctuary

My Man and I have a Meditation/Yoga/Altar room off of our bedroom. It is a great little space. Too small to photograph, but take my word for it.
It contains our mutual altar, is just big enough to do Yoga and it is sacred space.

In a place of honor stands Ganesh, small statuary by Debbie Barrow, a bell, a small container where I have collected cat claws. And of course, candles and incense. I wish I knew more about the metal statue, which to me means, "As above, So below." Uniting the mind and body, the spirit and physical. If anyone knows, please tell me more.

This is our new CD player, jazzed up to show her true spirit. She resides in our meditation room so that we can follow the Yoga Sanctuary CD. Isn't she pretty?
I have been following my new boot camp inspired ritual of physical and emotional care. I am walking everyday for about 20 minutes, working up a sweat and communing with the outdoors. I am doing my band and hand weight workout twice a week and yoga almost everyday. I feel better about myself and enjoy the empowering feeling of exertion in my body.

I Am.

I am back from BootCamp and integrating the information I learned over the past week. I feel more centered and in my body. I have a commitment to myself to care for my body physically, mentally and spiritually.
It was an awesome week.

Dressing up as and fully embracing my goddess, Gyhldeptis. She is an Alaskan Native American goddess and she symbolizes synthesis. As, it seems, there are no coincidences, I am working on incorporating some old issues into my current lifestyle and I am sure Gyhldeptis will bring forth love and compassion in the days to come.
True to the description of the week we hiked, did yoga, aromatherapy, a sweat lodge, danced to African drumming, belly dancing and much more. My body is still vibrating from the workouts and energy that I experienced over the week.
I will be doing my weights (not quite this workout, but something quite similar) and elastic band workouts tonight. I walked a few miles this morning and feel good. I want to continue to feel good, so
I am making a commitment to myself to:
Walk every morning instead of interneting for a half hour or more.
Do hand weights and elastic band workout twice a week.
Do yoga at least four times a week.
and attend to my spiritual self.
Here is a photo of the entire group dressed up as the goddesses we are:

Here is a pop up detail of Lois and I from the same photo. Lois is an awesome woman whom I bonded with quite easily. She is strong, positive and fun loving, not to mention the fact that she is radiant.
And last but certainly NOT least, Coco, whose spirit shines through in her smile, attitude and presence. I fell in love with Coco from the very beginning. She is a healer and can work magic from afar, as she lives in Australia this is a good thing.

She is precious.
Sierra Bender put together a great retreat and and fabulous team of support. Thank you Sierra, Anna Maria (healer intuitive!), Barbara, Mariam, Gia, Jeff, and everyone who else whose name escapes me but help and support has not.

Later in the day: I did both my yoga and the hand weight and band workout. My Man tried doing the band work out with me and at one point I heard him counting... "F*@%ing 9, F*@%ing 10... we laughed so hard! Boy are band workouts difficult! But the good thing is that no gym membership is required!

Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt.

Last night I hung out with my homey, Angela. Look very closely at the above image and you will see her... Goofball extraordinaire, looking pretty for the picture.

She busted out her blender and made raspberry Margarita's in big, beautiful, blue glass cups. Showing off both the drink and her Ho' Nails, she is trying to pass this image off as her self portrait, BUT I know better. Angela's self portrait; View image
Sophie's took this fabulous self portrait.View image
My self portrait View image, is blurry and indistinct, kind of like me right now.
And last but certainly not least, this is what happens at the end of the night in the dark, sodden, stupor of one too many.

Anyway, we laughed really hard and had a good time. I love both of you Angela and Sophie!

Bootcamp Here I Come!

I have already told everyone who might read this blog that I have been given a 5 day retreat to Kripalu entitled Bootcamp for Goddesses.
Now! Am I excited or am I excited? Both!
Not being able to afford the additional expense of a whole new wardrobe, I have decided to sew some new outfits for this retreat. The pants pattern is my own, modeled after a pair of pajamas that I love.
The top is Simplicity #5198. I beaded the top with matte finish lime green seed beads to bring the border color of the pants into the top. Here is a detail.

I was supposed to get the Butterick 3385 pattern for the sew along, but I didn't like how it pucked at the lower front, and I tend to think that they should work out the quirks in a pattern before selling it to the general public.
I don't usually sew from commercial patterns, more often than not I cobble together a pattern from this and that and make up my own sewing rules as I go. Now, WHY do they tell us to sew a 5/8" seam and then trim the seam to a 1/4"? Am I dumb? Don't I know how to sew? And if I didn't, wouldn't it be better to learn to sew a 1/4" seam in the first place?
So, about the Simplicity #5198 pattern: I like the construction of this little top. My only issue is that the v-neck is way lower than my own sense of modesty can handle. In the photo I am wearing a camisol type bra, I could have sewn a small piece of lace in the V, but didn't have any black lace that I liked in my stash. I am considering ways to modify the pattern so that I am totally happy with it the next time I sew it.

Odd Angles

I know this is a wonky photo, taken at an odd angle and showing much more hip than is seen in reality, but I didn't want to interrupt my Man from playing the guitar-in order for me to post a comment to my blog.
I have the sew-my-own-clothing bug. This is my second pair of pants this week, in a border print georgette. I even sewed some bells to the drawstring, which you can't really see in the wonky photo!
I think I need a lime green top to go with and am thinking it is time for me to step up to the I Can Sew Too plate, I did join the sew-along!
The Rag Shop has a 33% off coupon for early birds, I am washing and drying fabric from the stash right now. I am hoping to be able to sew the Butterick #3385 pattern in knit fabrics too. I may have to dye the top to match the lime green I want.
In going through my stash, I came across some fabulous fabrics! It makes me want to branch out and wear COLOR and PATTERNS, crazy combinations and everything!

Art as Therapy

I often use art as a means to express my internal struggle. In the last few weeks I have been exploring some pretty dark aspects of my self and have been feeling low, depressed, and exposed. Hence the skull in my journal.
I don't think this piece is done. I imagine I need to write over the black background in shiny varnish. Maybe try to bring the gentle pinks and yellows on the left hand into the skull.
Sitting and painting in my book calms and soothes me. I loose myself and the incessant chatter in my mind comes to a halt. This is why I make art, it brings me to the quiet, a communion with spirit, self, a power greater. It becomes a meditation of doing, a salve, and is undeniably needed.