Catching up Part 1

What's Creating Today - Catching up since my last post - Part 1

Wow, so my resolution of posting on my blog is not going as planned as I have barely found the time to get into the studio let alone find the time to blog about things. 

Obviously life at The Loft has been anything but idle, so I thought I would share some of things we have been up to.

The Loft was in full Tampa Bay Lightning fan mode as our beloved Bolts once again made it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Besides our normal half season tickets, Hubby even got the full playoff package, so late season and post season hockey was at the forefront of all of our activities from March through May.   During this time though, Cassidy and I took advantage of a behind the scenes tour of Amalie Arena before a game in early March, so here are some pictures.  The free tour was really great and very informative.  I never know so much went into ice maintenance.

This is Bob, who is in charge of making sure the ice is in top form for each game, and is one of the drivers of the Zamboni.

 

 

 

The Press Box

 

The hockey playoffs definitely kept us busy as we had tickets for all the home games.  Here is a picture from Game 1 of the first series against the Islanders.

 

 

 

Even for Mother's Day, the Lightning made for more lasting memories.  My husband unfortunately had to be out of town that weekend but he arranged for a wonderful surprise for me.

 

ThunderBug our team mascot, paid me a visit at work and brought me flowers.  This was one of those wonderful surprises that people always see on the internet but almost never happens to them. 

 

 

I did manage to get some studio time in however, and finished these two Toni Whitney wall hangings.

 

 

 

I even managed to get my first tattoo on the 4th of July weekend.  Lord of the Rings fans may recognize the font.  I'm a big fan so I had my name inked on my back in Elvish!

 

 

 

I also reached a milestone with my bicycling.  I logged my first

1000 miles,

since I started seriously riding in October of 2014.  I know to some this might not seem like a lot, but for me it was a huge personal accomplishment.

 

On my next post I'll catch you up on the rest of what we have been doing since my last post.  I am also working on some new posts about a few other projects I have been working on so please come back soon.  As always comments are most welcome so feel free to drop me a note and let me know what is on your mind.

 

Thanks for reading and we'll see you soon.





 

 

What's Creating Today - Resolutions as wish lists.

 

 

It is at the beginning of every New Year that many people make some sort of resolution, whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, work out more, or cut their spending.  According to the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology about 45% of people make resolutions every year but only 8% are actually successful in achieving their goal.  A resolution is defined as a formal statement or decision to do or not do something, but you could also define it as a pledge, vow or promise.  These words carry heavy weight to me so I am not one to really make resolutions.  Psychologically I believe that these words add too much pressure to achieve success, which therefore causes a higher propensity for failure if a setback is experienced.

It’s unrealistic to think that when trying to achieve any kind of significant goal, that you will not experience a setback from time to time.  It’s only natural! But it’s also the primary reason people generally abandon their resolutions and usually within the few months. 

So instead of resolutions I made wish lists.  Things I would like to do, but with no pressure to achieve them, and with full awareness that some may need to be completed in baby steps to achieve my ultimate goal.   I actually made two wish lists, a personal and a creative one, and needless to say my creative wish list is a lot longer than my personal one.

Here’s my 2016 wish lists!

 My personal wish list

I’ll admit that this is a VERY short list, because most of my creative wishes are things that make me happy and therefore translates to a lot of personal satisfaction.  But of course there are always a few outside of those creative wishes that are deeply personal.  The first and foremost wish on my personal wish list is to lead a healthier life.  This actually stemmed from a few family health scares over the last 2 years.  And while it’s not technically a new wish for me but rather a continuation of a goal I set for myself for 2015, I include it because it’s a big one that needs constant reinforcement.  And for me to continue to be successful and accomplish those healthy goals, as a family we have had to all adapt to our new way of life.  This journey continues to be a challenge for me, and even though I have a tremendous amount of support from my family, it is still a struggle none-the-less. 

In that same vein however, and also on my personal wish list is to participate in my first distance charity bicycle ride.  When I started on my healthier lifestyle journey, bicycle riding became my primary source of exercise.  It quickly turned into somewhat of an obsession, and find myself pushing myself to ride longer distances in one ride.  What started as barely being able to go 1/8th of a mile has now turned into an average of 12-15 miles per ride and a personal best of 21.5 miles in one ride (increasing my distance this is also on my personal wish list).

Other things on my personal wish list are to read more for pleasure and to start teaching my youngest daughter how to cook.

 

 

My creative wish list is always overloaded but I think my most important entry on this year's list is to actually reduce the size of my typical creative wish list which means I need to do less pattern work and more self-designed and free thinking works.  

Last year I overloaded myself with projects that I neglected my blog a lot, so another entry on my creative wish list is to post a lot more of my work on the blog along with more insight into my creative process and work flow.

 

Some of my other creative wish list items include starting or participating in a Rolodex card art swap, finishing some, if not all, of my unfinished projects currently sitting in my studio. I would also like to do more painting, art journaling and scrapbooking. I'd also like to put more focus on my Etsy shop.  I'd like to go back to working on my dollhouse which has been an on again/off again project for about 18 years now.  I also have a few other project ideas that I would like to get off the ground, which if they happen I promise to post about them. 

I hope by sharing my thoughts and views on resolutions it will help you to see them in a new way.  I would love to hear about what's on your wish list, so please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me your thoughts. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a healthy, happy and creative 2016.