Category — 100 Ideas

From the list of 100 ideas.

 
Dear Friend,
I want to be just like you when I grow up. When I really and truly grow up.
I don’t think I’m there yet because I still think of myself as a spoiled child. But someday, I will cease being silly, and I hope that I’ll end up the kind of woman you are.
I watch you when you don’t think anyone is looking. I see how selfless you are. I see how you are so patient and sweet with children even when they are being obnoxious.
I see you befriending elderly women in our neighborhood and not just to be nice, but because you see that they have something of value to offer.
I witness your family and the love you all have for each other. I hear your children speak highly of you. I see them walking in your footsteps. I feel their happiness and know it is in part because you are their mother.
I feel your humility. I wonder how you can overlook your own goodness when it is so obvious to everyone around you.
I admire your strength, wisdom, experience, and heart.
I feel warmed by your presence.
I feel accepted and appreciated whenever I’m near you. I know my best is good enough.
Even though, I’m far from this goal,
Someday, when I grow up, when I really and truly grow up.
I want to be a woman like you.

Make pencil rubbings of six different surfaces.
(Want to know what this is about? Click HERE.)

 

Idea #8 Find a photo of a person you do not know. Write a brief bio about them. (Huh?)

 


 
She is not formally educated, but has gained wisdom from her life’s experiences. She has a bit of a temper, but keeps it inside. She handles her aggression with the use of voodoo dolls and spitting at passers by.

 
Hobbies include herb growing, riding a bike with a large basket on the front in which to collect various treasures from the side of the road, astrology, tanning, and people watching.

 
She is the oldest of five children. Her parents relied on her for much of the care of her siblings which resulted in early grey hair. She is self-conscious of this, and hides her locks under this wrap. She makes the headwraps herself by dying fabric with plant roots and hot water.

 
She’s been smoking since she was 9 years old. She’s not really hooked on the nicotine, it’s just that she likes having something dangling from her lip. She tried to replace the cigarette with a Bic pen, but the weight was all wrong and it didn’t stay put when she coughed or spoke.
Habits are hard to break.

 
She earns a living by running a roadside fortune telling shack. (free head wrap with every reading)

 
She loves Mad Libs (honestly, who doesn’t?) and her favorite food is turkey legs, carnival style. She spends her after-work hours lounging in a kiddie pool behind her Westfalia van. She eats grilled cheese sandwiches every night for dinner.

My mental state lately is such that I am doing everything in my power to distract myself from my own thoughts. I have turned into a person who can’t stand quiet. This is new.
But, I am feeling vulnerable, paranoid, suspicious and exceptionally weepy. So to combat this, I’ve been constantly listening to music with lyrics that require my attention, reading my favorite books and watching all manner of TV. Speaking of which, I saw the strangest show on BBC America called Britain’s Worst Teeth. It was one of those things that I knew would haunt me later, yet I couldn’t look away. (Note to self: buy dental floss)
Anyway, I was browsing around my own blog, (I find myself very entertaining! ) and I came across the 100 ideas list. I figured this would be a more worthy distraction than watching people with rotting teeth avoid going to the dentist.
So here it is. #58 List your ten most important things (not including people or animals)
In no particular order…
1. My camera. I’m not choosing which camera. That depends on the day/subject/application. But a camera, for sure.
2. My photo albums. Memories of everyone I love.
3. My wedding ring. Kelly surprised me with it about a month after we eloped. He picked it out without my input and I love it because it reminds me of that time in our lives.
4. My iPod. There is a playlist for every mood I have. It’s my life’s soundtrack.
5. My yard. Peace, beauty, escape.
6. My scriptures. Hope, answers, understanding.
7. My Wustof knife. Joy in cooking. (really.)
8. My computer. Photoshop, iMovie, blogging, iTunes, e-mail.
9. That antique baby dish I bought in New Hampshire. I don’t know why I love it so much, but I do.
10. My red trench coat. It has magical powers.

Idea #17 (see what this is about HERE.) Go to a paint store and collect chips of your favorite colors.
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And now for your reading pleasure (or not) a sampling of my thoughts today:
-I wish Courtney would have never introduced me to fresh strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. I can’t get enough .
-The Little Guy must be coming down with something. He cannot be this ill-tempered for no good reason. I can’t face my life if this is just his new 2 year old personality.
-I found a cluster of pretty little plants with delicate white flowers that are, as it turns out, weeds. I thought about leaving them there, but decided against it for fear of them mulitiplying and replenishing the earth (or my yard) It got me thinking that there are lots of things in life that start out as small, desireable, even good things. But if you let them get out of hand, they can take over and do damage. (like maybe my internet usage!)
-I realized that I talk to plants in my yard. (seriously!) And that I feed birds with abandon. And that I walk around barefoot all day long. All there is left to do is throw a straw hat on my head and add a few decades and I am the crazy old lady people remember from their childhood.
-My boys call each other douche bags. Who’s idea was it to make me a mother, anyway? One word…unfit.

Kelly D. was shooting a wedding reception late tonight, so it was just me and the boys.
You know what that means?
Pancakes for dinner.
I’m really not trying to get the boys to feel happy when Daddy isn’t home for dinner, but tonight when I told them he’d be gone, Tato said, “Oh yeah! Breakfast tonight!” And then Fishy followed up with, “Please Mom… not the heart-healthy pancakes.” (my efforts are obviously going unappreciated)
I promised to make the least healthy version of pancakes I can.
Speaking of which, have you tried that recipe for IHOP pancakes I posted a while back? My goodness. What are you waiting for?
After dinner (breakfast), we hit the RedBox and picked up a movie called The Waterhorse. The boys really liked it. What I liked about it was watching Tato’s heart break in a number of scenes during the movie. Whenever this creature was in peril, he would gasp in horror and say, “Awwww. Why are they trying to hurt him? Is he going to die?”
He was on the verge of tears several times.
It was precious. Such a tender heart in that kid.
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In other news…
I checked off another item on the 100 ideas list today.
#35, Give away something you love.
This was a really hard thing to do! But I did it. And, I’m glad.

Idea #20. Write a haiku. (more ideas HERE.)

Realization
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Burned his tiny hand.
“Ouch! Kiss it better, Mama.”
Still hurts. Stares, puzzled.

(I may try this again. It was harder than I thought.)

Idea #2 Write a letter to yourself in the future.

(complete list HERE.)
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Dear Kelly,

I have been thinking about how to write this letter for a few days. I have been trying to figure out what to say to you. As I think about the things that are relevant to both of us, the first thing that comes to mind is the boys.
Do they visit much? I hope I did a good job. I hope they turned out all right despite my shortcomings. I hope I gave them a good start and that they know how much I love them. I hope I was able to teach them enough about the gospel. I try to be a good example and live my life in a way that shows them how to be happy through my actions. But, this is a hard role I have undertaken! Motherhood is truly a challenge. The challenge. Each day, I am face to face with my flaws and inadequacies. I have a hard time seeing the big picture of life. I only hope that my intentions count for something, and that my efforts were enough.
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I hope I am spending enough time with the boys. I hope I am paying attention to the details enough so you have wonderful memories of this time. I want you to be able to recall what it feels like to be needed by a two-year-old Beck. I want you to remember what it feels like to sit in a chair in his darkened room singing to him while he sucks his thumb and hums along with you, or to remember the sound of his voice when he says, “Mama”.
I want you to remember how Tate’s little five year old hands look and feel in yours. And how his eyes look when he smiles and how contagious his giggle is.
I want you to remember the sweetness and sensitivity of Josh. How creative and imaginative his mind is. I hope you can recall how his face looks when he feels proud of himself. And how he makes you laugh everyday with his clever observations.
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I hope your marriage is as happy for you as mine is for me. I hope I showed Kelly enough appreciation and love. I hope you two still have fun together. I really think I picked a good partner for you. He is someone that accepts all of my craziness and I’m sure he will accept yours too and love you just the same.
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I’m trying everyday to reach the spiritual goals I have set. It will be great to see you reaping the rewards of my work. It is not easy, but I know you’ll say it was worth it. I’m trying not to let you down.
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I hope I have behaved in ways that will affect people around me in a positive way. I hope people look back on their dealings with me and feel glad to have known me. You will be fortunate yourself, if you still have some of the friendships I enjoy now. I can only imagine how much richer these relationships will become when seasoned by time.
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This is less important, but I really hope you are not fat. I am trying hard to form good eating habits so I won’t have to apologize to you later.
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I try everyday to develop talents and interests so you will have a fulfilling life even after these boys leave home. I hope you laugh everyday. I hope you finally get rid of that bindweed in the backyard. I’m jealous that you get to see all the plants and designs I’ve put together in the garden in their maturity.
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My biggest wish for you though, is that you learn from my mistakes. They are many, but I think there are lessons in each of them and if you focus on those, you will look back with no regrets.

Love,
Kelly

I had a day without obligations. I really, really, really love days like this. The Little Guy is still a bit sick, so I can’t venture out too far or for too long. He makes too many illness associated messes so I’m better off staying here.
I have been feeling like I need to recharge my creative batteries a bit lately. I have loved making these gourd bird feeders and birdhouses for my Etsy shop and that has just confirmed what I had already been feeling.
It feels good to make stuff! I need to do it.
Last night I was switching purses, (Do you do this too? Seasonally, at least. But sometimes even more frequently.) and I found something I printed off a website at the beginning of the year. It was a list of 100 ideas to inspire creativity, think differently, and just get those juices flowing. I had completely forgotten about it, and when I came across it last night, it was serendipity.
I’m going to do all of them. The ideas range from painting, to writing, to observing and everything inbetween.
Here is the one I did today…

The challenge was to make a print using food that had been cut in half. I used all sorts of things. Broccoli, carrots, lemons, garlic, and this onion.
I’m not usually a painter. I really wish I was, but I found this exercise to be fun and this is the print I am putting in my 100 Things Journal of Creative Endeavors.
Such fun. And Tato thought it was the coolest thing we did all day.