Ring In the New Year!

Brownie sundae, for this girl! Happy New Year! 010117

PETER COTTONTAIL

I was furiously looking for this picture yesterday and failed. Thankfully, my cousin found and posted it for me. THIS is what I think of every.single.easter. every.single.year. My mom usually made my sister and I matching dresses, we got up went to church. It was one of the few times per year, we were able to sit through the full service with our parents, the family would fill the whole pew. After church we would all go to our Oma and Opas house. We had an easter egg hunt, no matter how chilly. It was always special for me, being the youngest my cousins always made sure I had the same number of eggs in my basket, or would help me find the few that were left. Later, in the aftrnoon, the rest of the family would come over for a huge meal. There were tons of desserts, but always strawberry cream roll that Oma made, Lemon squares my Aunt made and Oma's sister would make her 7 layer cake. Cracking eggs was always a competition and in the end, we all lost. After dinner we would sit around the table and tell stories. There was always lots of laughter and gigling by us girls. I always loved Easter because the flowers had usually started to bloom and Omas garden was always amazing. It was a day we got treats but it was more about family and just being together and the new begining each spring would bring. Even though we spend Holidays apart from each other now, these are the ones I remember best. :0) <3

I Haven't Lost My Marbles, I am Still Discovering Them

I know you all think I have lost my marbles with promoting this book. Let me put it this way.... I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE MY MARBLES WERE UNTIL I DISCOVERED THIS. I would not be where I am now, if I had never discovered this book. (handed to me by my Hesser College professor)

This is the teen version by a different author but it is based on the same theory of learning.

DON'T try and fix what is broke - or never existed. It will only frustrate the HELL out of your kid.

DO ENCOURAGE him/them to pursue something they are ALREADY GOOD AT and are NATURAL TALENTS.

I found an ad for Vodka this morning (in my YOGA magazine), the whole page looked like a lined piece of notebook paper with a line drawn down the middle. On the left it said "what I love to do" on the right it said "what I'm good at". At the bottom was a link to how this simple exercise helped a man realize his passion. 

This book/ method (link below) takes that simple exercise to a whole new level. These exercises and quizzes CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF and what you are capable of and that WE ARE NOT BROKEN. We are just wired differently.

PS - MOM, STOP BLAMING YOURSELF FOR NOT RAISING YOUR KIDS CORRECTLY.

You guys did EXACTLY what everyone TOLD you to do. What everyone THOUGHT was the right way to raise children. ITS DIFFERENT NOW. NOW, the children are parents and are realizing that through their own frustrations of growing up - THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY. Each child is not wired the same way, each child needs individual attention by their parents and teachers to FIND the way the kids learn best, and DON'T ask the kids. They don't know! OR if they have hunches and gut feelings - they don't know how to express them because WE don't know how to express those feelings. 

We ALL need to CHANGE the way we think about ourselves and what we BELIEVE TO BE TRUE, for ourselves and for them. How we interact with each other is what the kids have learned and they will continue to mimic us until they are out on their own and have their own lives and realize they can make their own decisions.  LEAD BY EXAMPLE. I'm sure as hell trying! I've gotten THIS FAR, but for me, its not good enough! I WILL CONTINUE to learn and grow and change and BE BETTER THAN I WAS YESTERDAY. 

There are TONS of these books on Amazon. The one I have is the "Clifton Strengthsfinder" which is one of the older ones and used by psychologists and has created the college course. 

I think this is a good place to start for teens, then if they are interested, they are old enough to go looking for what SPEAKS to them. 

My other two cents... people NEED to be rewarded for the little things that are positive. Just because they are not living up to what YOU BELIEVE they should be doing -- look for small signs of improvement and reward that! It will encourage them to keep trying, instead of saying, yes, well that's all well and good, but you need to be a 10 not a 5. SOMETIMES a 5 is a 10! Its like karate. Each level achieved is rewarded with a colored belt. Participants KNOW that the black belt is the ultimate reward, however, if they just have to plow through year after year, kick after kick to get that black belt --- they may never achieve it. Some people are just not THAT talented or do not have the physical ability or may just find something else to do. HOWEVER, that does not mean that their efforts should go unnoticed. 

25 years after graduating highschool... I still do not have degree. HOWEVER, I started a collection of certificates of courses that I have taken and passed with flying colors. If I framed them all, they would cover the walls in my living room. This is not anything anyone ever asks to see or even knows exists. BUT IT MAKES ME OK with not having a degree. I have work/ life skills that most people my age don't. I have an understanding of working with different types of people in different environments under different conditions in different fields. It makes LIFE easier to deal with when you have empathy for the guy on the other side of the table. It makes you more likable to a wider variety of people. It made me realize people just plug through everyday in their little shells NOT SEEING the big picture or understanding that life is bigger than what is at the end of their nose. It has made me realize I am unique in this ability and that's what I hope to share with other people, so that they may also see and understand better. It's through Facebook and other social outlets that I have discovered there are like minded people out there, even though they may not be in my immediate vicinity, and that makes me feel like I belong to a larger family.

the book

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Parachute-Teens-Third-Edition/dp/1607745771/ref=pd_sim_14_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BS1E5H559HZ7W7VFPQE

What We Leave Behind

It's interesting. When you start over, you give yourself the ability to start with a clean slate. It's the perfect time to change bad habits and create new good ones. Time to make new friends, learn something new, change your address and wardrobe. I've done it many times, mostly with my job, but also relationships. At first glance, people think I have commitment issues, in a way I guess I would agree, but not in the way you would think. I have a problem committing to spend the rest of my life doing something I don't like doing, or staying with a partner who doesn't know how to treat others well and who doesn't respect me as a human being. 
However, after 10 years, I have a completely different life than I used to. The people that were in it then are no longer in it now. The people that are here now are ones that I have chosen to be a part of my life, not just by default. In taking life less seriously, I have made very serious decisions on where I am and where I would like to go. Mostly, everyone knows what town I grew up in and that I loved the farm and gardening and can't wait to get back to "it". What they don't know are all the things I had to give up or have gotten away from to get here. Now, I am choosing to bring some of those lost items back into my life.

One thing that strikes me at this moment, as I sit - crafting on a very expensive wool area rug that is now covered in glitter - is that unless you were at my wedding, you probably don't know that I make silk floral arrangements. I mention my wedding because it was my biggest project. I created two large pieces for the alter at the church, two small bouquets for our grandmothers, all the bouquets and corsages for the entire bridal party, plus centerpieces for 20 tables. People spend thousands of dollars for a florist to do the flowers for their wedding and I was able to do it all for a few hundred dollars and several hours doing something I love to do.

I'm reflecting on this now, because by going to work at the craft store, I was given the chance to work with one of the most amazing skilled florists in the area. He didn't work there, he was a customer. He would come into the store about once a month and to look for new inventory, if he found something he was inspired by, he would grab a vase and start filling it. He stood right at the floral counter next to me and swoosh, clip, bend, tweak and flourish until he had a stunning masterpiece in front of him. It was thrilling to watch him take simple branches, stems, grasses and berries come to life before my very eyes. He explained the structure, sizes and quantities along with color and placement. All his techniques, hints and secrets, mine to absorb. My duty was to collect all the tags as he ripped them off and threw them on the counter so he could pay for it on the way out. He always walked out with a completed project and it was always an amazing experience for me. I asked him one day what he did with the finished pieces, he said he would run by the mall and sell it to one of the stores or drop it off at one of the nursing homes in the area.

That was in 1996. I left that job and heard later that the man had passed away. As I sit here, listening to music and creating a simple arrangement for Christmas, I think of him, wondering if he really knew what he left behind and think it's pretty cool.

MY INNER FOODIE

My food Epiphany... "I don't like food. I don't like cooking and cleaning. If I didn't have to eat, I wouldn't."  This attitude is a RESULT of a few things, but mainly from processed packaged fast factory food we have learned to eat. I NEVER ate like that in my parents home. It's time consuming to cook from scratch when you are out of practice, feed someone who doesn't really care or doesn't help and don't have the tools or space. For most of this year I have been trying to find my inner foodie and I'm still working on it. Food, in my family was a process we all enjoyed and did together. It was melt in your mouth, drizzle down your chin, sticky, sweet, love and laughter served on a plate. We always helped Mom bake, stir, chop or set the timer. Dad was always there too to chop, grill, do dishes or just try and get in the way and cause mischief. We all took turns "flipping the records" and playing with the cats who were both sprawled on the floor watching it all.
When I moved out and created a home of my own, I tried to continue the tradition of cooking, but it slowly has dwindled and died in a box of Mac and cheese alone. No wonder I fell out of love with food. Nothing had the flavor of homemade, the spirit of the process was gone and it all sat like a lump in the pit of my stomach. In the holiday spirit last night, I made cranberry bread for the first time in many years. With a pile of fresh, crisp cranberries, the heat of the oven and warm bread sliced with fresh butter- I REMEMBERED.

SWF...

I am the proud daughter of a NH native old yankee farmer and a German immigrant farmer, dont get any of us started on equal rights.
Growing up, my Mom made sure we had the best that they could provide, in a rich town. We didnt have name brand anything, but we had lots of love. Dad was a self employed landscape designer, who was also the best bud to hang with and climb all over. He taught me how to sweep the floor in the barn and how to nail a board without hitting my fingers. Mom taught me to cook, clean and sew. Hard work is what I do, no matter what the work. My passion for plants and growing my own food came from both of them, my favorite "sweet" snack is still tomatos off the vine.
People used to ask when I was going to put my talents to work for me. My answer was always the same, "what talent?". Just because my walls are lined with my own photographs and paintings and my beds and couches are lined wih handmade blankets, my favorite fleece jacket is the first garment I made when I got my first sewing machine, I dont consider it talent. I consider it life. I cook because I need to nourish myself and want to know what is going into my body. What I do isn't because I spent years in a classroom behind a stack of books. What I know is "real time" experience, I'm a doer, the fancy term I guess is DIY. Well, of course I am. Thats how I learned everything I know. My parents handed me a paintbrush when I still needed a step stool to reach the window sill. As I got older I thought I needed a partner to work on projects like that. Its always how my parents worked, side by side with the help of me and my sister. It wasnt until a coworker and friend encouraged me to engineer a solution to any problem myself and become self sufficent. That was 10 years ago. Where ever he is now, I still thank him everyday.

Last week my current relationship of three years came to a screeching hault. I'm not sure exactly how it all happened, call it lack of good communication and been-there-done that situation. Self respect made the words come out of my mouth. We're done. I immediately told my family and close friends, so that my heart wouldnt let me apologize and go running back. After a few days Mom said she was proud of me. My response was, I learned from the past. I wasnt going to go through the agonizing pain of packing and moving after having said goodbye.

Just 2 years ago, I picked "my town" where I had no past and only the future to look forward to. I got myself a job and after a few months picked up and moved there. For the first time in my life I did something for myself. Something I wanted but also to protect myself. This time when my relationship ended, I just had to hold my head up and put my feet on the floor again the next morning. My girlfriend said I do breakups "well". Ha. Nope, what I do is protect myself from disappointment as best as I can. I cant please everyone I encounter in my life and there are bound to be disappointments but one thing I have learned is to walk away from people who dont appreciate or respect who I am as a human. I consider myself fairly scientific and know all things are made from energy and truly believe in the law of attraction. I created Sistah Sunshine to boost my own positive energy. In 10 years, I have transformed myself. People who meet me now will not under stand what Ive been through to get where I am, mentally and physically. People who knew me then would probably say Im still the same crafty free spirit Ive always been. Only my closest friends and family know the truth and saw the struggle and talked me through the tears and sadness. They say better to have loved and lost then never feel love at all. As much as it hurts, its the truth.

I know what real love is. I have been fortunate to have experienced it my whole life from my family, and did see it in the eyes and hugs of my lost relationship. I am hardly a perfect person, just ask my mom, but I am finally learning how to be perfectly "ME". My intention is to enjoy right now, right here, right where I am. I love my home, friends and job. I plan on spending more time on these so-called talents I have and exploring new ones. I know I am a good person and have come to accept myself just the way I am. I also know I am caring and giving and capable of a loving lasting relationship, as long as I am honest with myself and them. I also know there is someone out there who may have been through a similar set of circumstances, understands what I've been through, respects me and appreciates and encourages who I am. I just haven't found him yet.

I'm Such a Geek....

So, obviously this blog is brand new, but something I have wanted to do for YEARS. I am a graphic designer - a PRINT graphic designer... I know, old school. So this whole HTML thing is just, well... I'm in the same position as anybody else just learning how to blog. Having said that, I am excited to report that I just successfully copied and pasted html to a gadget that is now showing on my blog! (thats the geek part...)

My mission here is to have fun and promote things that are ingrained in me. Crafting is 90% of my life. When I saw a post on Craftsy, how they are promoting health through creativity, (crafting-is-my-motivation) I thought, well yes, that is how I have survived my life. There are so many instances that I have turned to crafting to express myself, decompress from the stress of a chaotic day, or out of a need to organize or simplify. I can't even begin to list the types of crafting I do. I have to categorize broadly. Yarn. Paint. Photography. Silk flowers. Sewing. Gardening. Sculpy Clay. Concrete and rocks. My projects range from 15 minute crochet scarves to all summer hardscape construction projects, like building my raised vegetable garden.

I have to say, this was one of my prouder moments. The installation is a story in itself, so by the time I got to this point and actually had vegetables growing I was PUMPED. I believe this was the first year and the seeds got a late start, so I call it the experimental garden. It only had half a growing season, but I learned ALOT about gardening and prepared for the following spring. 

I miss my garden the most. :0(  Right now, I am in an apartment, but my landlord has agreed to let me have and do whatever I want to the raised bed in front of the house. :0)  Right now, I'm just waiting for the snow to melt! In the meantime, I am doing my creative thing on my computer with writing this blog and working on a couple websites. I also have a zillion AMAZING photos from last summer that I want to publish and still need to figure out how to do that. 

....and so, the crafting continues.... 

The Wooden Stool in the Kitchen...

When I was a child there was a wooden stool in my grandparent's kitchen.  It was painted a horrible pale mint green that was chipped in places and had been painted over. A red and white "doiley" lay lifeless on its hand carved seat. With two sets of rungs to rest ones feet no matter how big or small, that were just the right height for anyone who chose to perch there.

It lived in the little space between the refrigerator and the doorway to the tv room, where nothing else seemed to fit. At holiday gatherings, I ran to take my position greeting everyone as they came through the door, after they put down their coats and left the cold behind. I was so small tucked in the corner, that visitors who were new to Oma's kitchen were usually surprised to see me tucked up in there. It was the placed I crawled up onto when I felt oh-so-small in a room full of adults. I tucked my feet up under me and waited silently for someone to approach at which point I could spring up, stand up on it to receive a hug or to be carried home.

I think of this now, as I am perched up on the wooden stool in my own kitchen wedged in a corner between the cabiinets and radiator, where nothing else seems to fit. It seems to be a staple in my family. Each of us has a different version of one, my parents actually had a really wide steam radiator that was lower to the floor than most, that I used to sit up on while Mom was baking or Dad was shucking the corn. Even as we grew up and got older, we replaced our wooden stools for counter stools, and maybe now there are two or three instead of one, but it still seems to be the place for anyone to perch and carry on a conversation. To reflect on the days events or discuss what's new in our friends lives. No matter what the shape or size, to me it always means "Welcome". An invitation to join the conversation. One thing is for sure, don't put a stool in the corner of your kitchen if you want to be left alone.

No one really knows where Oma and Opa's old stool came from and I'm not sure where it went to. I hope that it went to a good home and that it is parked in the corner of someone else's kichen helping another child create fond memories. :0)

That is not a chewy toy!

Crocheting with a dog who thinks she's human...

I didn't create this monster, she came with the man I call Boyfriend. Fortunately for me, she's adorable and she adopted me almost imediately when we first met. Like most dogs, this one thinks she's human. She eats people food, hangs on the couch watching hockey and sleeps in a king bed. She also doesn't like dog toys, she would much rather play with something more practical, for instance, Boyfriend's socks. The dirty ones. She hasn't got a hold of mine, yet... however, she sits right next to me on the bed, licking her chops as I am waking up and trying to put them on my feet. Other things she enjoys carrying around, Uncle's wallet or cell phone, Grammy's kindle, or random pieces of junk mail. This past Christmas she helped me send out Christmas cards by parading around the living room with the cards in her mouth, one at a time.


Last summer we went to visit Grammy and she had left her knitting on the table in the living room. We were sitting on the porch enjoying the breeze when someone grabbed the ball of yarn and brought it out to us. She thinks everything is hers. 3 months later as we're huddled around the hockey game, I pulled out a crochet project I was working on and almost immediately had a 60 pound dog in my lap thinking my ball of yarn is her chewy toy. My fun fur is not a chewy toy...